The cost of cyberattacks is growing alongside increases in digitization and artificial intelligence (AI). A recent investor note stated that if cybercrime damage were a state, it would be the world’s third-largest economy. The note added that 60% of organizations were hit by ransomware in 2023.
The average payment increased fivefold compared to the previous year. The average cost of a data breach has risen 10% in 2024. This report came a day after Fidelity Investments disclosed a data breach that affected 77,099 customers.
Customers’ Fidelity accounts were not accessed, but unspecified personal information was obtained by a third party. The company said in a letter to consumers, “Between August 17 and August 19, a third party accessed and obtained certain information without authorization using two customer accounts that they had recently established.
Heightened defenses against cybercrime
We detected this activity on August 19 and immediately took steps to terminate the access.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it plans to require Marriott International and its subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to implement a comprehensive security program. This comes after the company suffered three large data breaches from 2014 to 2020. The breaches include one that began in June 2014 and went undetected for 14 months, affecting 14,000 Starwood customers.
Another began around July 2014 and went undetected for over four years, compromising 339 million Starwood guest accounts. A third data breach began in September 2018, went undetected until February 2020, and saw fraudsters access 5.2 million Marriott guest records. A PYMNTS Intelligence report in September 2022 found that 25% of executives at financial institutions with $500 billion or more in assets saw the new sophistication of fraud as a barrier to data security.
62% of executives at financial institutions with over $5 billion in assets said they had seen an increase in financial crime compared to the previous year. The increasing frequency and cost of cybercrime highlight the need for more robust cybersecurity measures as digitization and the use of AI continue to expand.
Noah Nguyen is a multi-talented developer who brings a unique perspective to his craft. Initially a creative writing professor, he turned to Dev work for the ability to work remotely. He now lives in Seattle, spending time hiking and drinking craft beer with his fiancee.
