The Real Cost of Cybercrime

Several weeks ago I published a small overview of the e-mail spam which concluded with the costs behind this kind of activity. Analysts estimated for the companies worldwide billions and billions of yearly losses in terms of infrastructure and productivity expenses.

Because spamming is just one of those many types of cybercrime, the figures are probably multiplying with each and every other e-threat, whether we talk about phishing, ID theft, scams, viruses, worms, Trojans, botnets, rootkits, or any other malware. Of course, the numbers run well for the business tier, especially since corporations and organizations have the means to statistically pull together facts and figures.

But what about the other costs which are even more tangible, but also more difficult to catch in a chart? What about the hours an ordinary user spends deleting each spam or removing the malware affecting his or her home computer? Or the phishing scheme that ruins family savings? Or the energy and resources the authorities deploy for pursuing and apprehending cybercriminals around the globe? Or the years a felon spends in jail for hacking a computer or counterfeiting software? And the list of questions could go on and on and on