Report Finds Hackers Steal $1 Million Every Minute

hacker, cyber attacks

A new report by digital threat management company RiskIQ found that cybercriminals are easily breaching the security systems of companies, making off with just over $1 million every minute. The company examined proprietary and third-party research and found that hackers are disseminating 1,274 unique pieces of malware every 60 seconds. 

“As the internet and its community continue to grow at a rapid pace, the threat landscape targeting it grows at scale as well," said RiskIQ CEO Elias Manousos. "We made the vast numbers associated with it more accessible by framing them in the context of an ‘internet minute’. Leveraging the latest research as well as our own global threat intelligence, we're defining the sheer scale of attacks that take place across the internet to help businesses better understand what they’re up against on the open web.”

Companies are spending around $171,233 every minute in an attempt to stop these attacks, but in that time frame, an average of 1.5 companies around the world fall victim to ransomware attacks in which hackers lock out the infected computer systems until a ransom is paid, usually in the form of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin.

“As companies innovate online to make more meaningful touchpoints with their customers, partners, and employees, attackers prey on their lack of visibility into their internet-facing attack surface to erode users’ trust and access credentials and sensitive data,” Manousos said. “Businesses must realize that they are vulnerable beyond the firewall, all the way across the open internet."

Hackers are getting more creative and exploiting the weaknesses of unsecured devices that can be connected to a companies wireless network. Last year, a group of cybercriminals used a 'smart' fishtank to break into a casino's secured servers and steal over 10gb of customer's data.

Photo: Getty Images


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content