cyber trends
The platform
criminality model
is productising
malware and making
cybercrime as easy
as shopping online.
cybercriminal tools, services and
expertise: it means enterprises and
governments alike are going to see more
sophisticated, costly and disruptive
attacks as the web of profit continues
to gain momentum. We can’t solve this
problem using old thinking or outmoded
technology. It’s time for new approaches.”
Revenue generation in the hyper-
connected web of profit
Conservative estimates in the web of
profit research show cybercriminal
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Issue 04
revenues worldwide of at least US$1.5
trillion – equal to the GDP of Russia. In
fact, if cybercrime was a country it would
have the 13th highest GDP in the world.
This US$1.5 trillion figure includes:
• US$860 billion – illicit/illegal
online markets
• US$500 billion – theft of trade
secrets/IP
• US$160 billion – data trading
• US$1.6 billion – crimeware-as-
a-service
• US$1 billion – ransomware
The report finds evidence that
cybercrime revenues often exceed those
of legitimate companies, especially at the
small to medium enterprise size. In fact,
revenue generation in the cybercrime
economy takes place at a variety
of levels, from large ‘multi-national’
operations that can make profits of more
than US$1 billion to smaller SME style
operation where profits of US$30,000 to
US$50,000 are the norm.
However, the report asserts that
comparing cybercrime to a business
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