How Often Does Cybercrime Happen In 2024? (Quick Stats)

How Often Does Cybercrime Happen in 2024?

Cybercrime refers to any criminal activity involving computers, networks, or devices. With more daily activities happening online, cyberattacks are an unfortunate reality. But just how often does cybercrime occur? Recent studies suggest there is a cyberattack every 39 seconds, equaling almost 2,500 attacks per day.

The most common types of cybercrime include phishing, ransomware, data breaches, and more. Let‘s analyze the frequency of different cybercrimes and what we can expect to see in 2024 and beyond.

Understanding Cybercrime

Before diving into statistics, it helps to understand what constitutes cybercrime. Essentially cybercrime involves illegal access to data or systems for financial gain or to cause disruption. Major categories of cybercrime include:

Phishing: Fraudulent emails or websites aiming to steal login credentials or personal information
Ransomware: Malware that locks systems until a ransom is paid
Data breaches: Theft of sensitive data from inadequately protected systems
Financial fraud: Stealing money via unauthorized bank transfers or fake transactions
Identity theft: Using stolen personal information to access accounts or obtain loans/credit
Cyberstalking/harassment: Online threats, bullying, or unwanted contact

Additionally, cybercriminals may hack systems simply to cause damage rather than financial gain. However, most cybercrime is financially motivated.

Key Cybercrime Statistics and Frequency Rates

On average, a business falls victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds. This translates to thousands of attacks daily.
Phishing remains the most common cybercrime, accounting for nearly 90% of data breaches. Over 100 billion phishing emails are sent per year.
In the US alone, a cybercrime is reported to authorities every 2 seconds. This equals over 1.6 million cybercrimes reported per year.
Major data breaches exposing millions of user records occur approximately every 2 weeks.
Between 2018-2022, global cybercrime costs are projected to rise by 15% per year, reaching over $10 trillion by 2025.

As these statistics show, cyberattacks across all forms occur frequently, totaling thousands every single day. Next we‘ll analyze the biggest threats expected in 2024.

Most Dangerous Cyber Threats in 2024

Cybercriminals constantly evolve their tactics, meaning new attack vectors develop each year. Based on current trends, the following threats are likely to pose the greatest risk in 2024:

Ransomware Targeting Critical Infrastructure

Ransomware will remain rampant, with a new focus on critical systems like hospitals, transportation, and utilities. By crippling essential services, hackers aim to extort higher payments. Prepare for more real-world consequences from cyberattacks on infrastructure.

Supply Chain Compromises

Software supply chain attacks infiltrate developer tools and distributions systems to infect end users. Much like the major SolarWinds and Codecov breaches of 2020-2021, threat actors will increasingly target third-party software vendors to access data.

Deepfakes and Synthetic Identities

AI-powered deepfakes make audio, video, and image forgeries more convincing than ever. Combined with automated bot attacks, deepfakes facilitate identity theft and financially-driven fraud at scale.

Cyber Warfare

State-sponsored hacking groups show no signs of slowing. Cyber warfare tactics like infrastructure disruption, data destruction, and espionage will surely continue as geopolitical conflicts heat up.

Cryptocurrency Fraud & Cryptojacking

The growth of cryptocurrencies also benefits cybercriminals. Expect phishing lures offering fake crypto investments alongside malware secretly mining coins using stolen computing resources.

In summary, attackers grow more strategic by targeting infrastructure and third parties to maximize damage. Technologically, deepfakes and cryptocrime also offer new money-making potential. Organizations must actively monitor cybercrime patterns to prevent emerging attack vectors.

How to Prevent Becoming a Cybercrime Victim

While authorities tackle cybercrime at a high-level, individuals and businesses aren‘t powerless. You can take several steps to avoid becoming the next victim:

Maintain strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. Reputable password managers also improve account security.
Keep all software and apps across devices updated. Patching delays make you an easy target for exploit kits.
Back up your data regularly. Ransomware and destructive malware try locking your files, so backups facilitate recovery.
Use end-to-end encryption tools when transmitting sensitive information.
Never click suspicious links or attachments, which often distribute malware payloads.
Only download software from official sources like app stores. Pirated media commonly hides malware.
Monitor financial statements to catch unauthorized transactions early.
Limit sharing personal information online that could facilitate identity theft.

No solution is 100% foolproof but following cybersecurity best practices significantly reduces your attack surface.

The Importance of Reporting Cybercrime

If you suffer a cyberattack, reporting the incident to national authorities is critical, yet often overlooked. Many victims simply try moving on once attacks end. However, documentation helps governments and law enforcement:

Track cybercrime patterns emerging globally and within different industries
Profile attacker habits to better prevent future incidents
Alert potential future targets to be vigilant against active threats
Identify and prosecute threat actors to deter future crimes
Refine cybersecurity standards and regulations

In the US, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) operated by the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) encourages reporting. Most countries have dedicated cybercrime units as well. Victim cooperation strengthens the support structure to combat cyberattacks over the long-term.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, cybercrime remains an evolving but ever-present digital threat, with an incident occurring every few seconds. Phishing, ransomware, data breaches, and identity theft represent the most frequent attack types today. Meanwhile emerging tactics like infrastructure targeting and AI-assisted fraud will demand heightened awareness in the coming years.

Yet through security best practices and greater cooperation between victims, businesses, and law enforcement, the prevalence and severity of cyberattacks can be reduced. Cybercrime may never fully disappear but collective diligence can help minimize its impacts and better catch offenders.