Cybercrime means a high cost to the global economy

McAfee security solutions editor just released a report developed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). After some research led by a group of economists, experts in intellectual property and security researchers, CSIS estimated that at the international level, acts of cybercrime could generate a huge loss of about $ 500 billion per year.

As per McAfee security, on a global scale, cyber-activities represent a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) that amounts to 0.4% up to 1.4%. In the United States, this can reach from US$ 24 billion to 120 billion thus representing from 0.2 to 0.8% of the U.S. GDP.

“For the 10 most powerful economies, intangible assets represent between 50% and 70% of the GDP by taking this into account, the range would be between US$ 80 billion and 400 billion,” the report says.

And these losses have a direct impact on employment. In the United States, if it is based on a high estimate of US $ 100 billion lost, the number of sacrificed jobs reaches 500,000. The methodology used to evaluate these figures is based on those used to measure crime economic impact , car accidents or drug trafficking. Researchers have actually identified six main sources of losses:

– Loss of intellectual property

– Cybercrime

– Loss of sensitive corporate data

– Opportunity costs, including downtime and reduced confidence in online activities

– Additional cost of network security, insurance and damage of a cyber-attack

– The damage to the reputation of the company hacked

Besides, hackers do not just drain the global economy, they also know how to grab an impressive amount of data more or less sensitive. In February 2013, a study lead by the Team Cymru revealed that hackers can steal at least one terabyte of data per day from governments, universities, as well as military bases and businesses. According to the United Nations Office against Drugs and crime, identity theft is the most profitable form of cybercrime and could create $ 1 billion revenues for cybercrime experts worldwide on a year basis.

McAfee security says that if you want to protect your computer or mobile, choose a VPN service: Le VPN encrypts your Internet connection and keep private the sites you visit and the information you leave on these sites.

Any information you send will go directly into your secure virtual tunnel. With Le VPN service, you can easily direct your traffic as coming from one of the 20 available countries. Your computer and your mobile phone or tablet shall connect to the Internet from one of these countries and no one shall be able to intercept your online business. Changing your IP address, through Le VPN, is one of the most important steps to surf the Internet anonymously and safely.