Global cybercrime costs reached $8 trillion in 2023, a 15% increase from the prior year. Phishing and ransomware drove more attacks per week, with 2,915 worldwide in 2023. Data breaches also kept expanding, exposing 4.88 billion records in the first nine months of 2023 and making repeat victimization more likely.
Key Takeaways
- Data breaches exposed 4.88 billion records in the first nine months of 2023, up 72% from 2022
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams caused $2.9 billion in losses in 2023, a 7% rise from 2022
- Global cybercrime costs reached $8 trillion in 2023, a 15% increase from $7 trillion in 2022, driven by ransomware and phishing attacks
- Phishing attacks increased by 58% year-over-year in 2023, affecting 300 million users globally
- Ransomware attacks surged 93% in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022, with over 2,000 incidents reported worldwide
Cybercrime is rising fast, highlighting the urgent need for stronger defenses and safer online habits.
Related reading
01 · Category
Data Breaches21 stats
01
Data breaches exposed 4.88 billion records in the first nine months of 2023, up 72% from 2022
02
US data breaches increased to 3,205 in 2023 from 1,802 in 2022, a 78% jump
03
Healthcare data breaches rose 264% in 2023, exposing 112 million records
04
Retail sector saw 1,300 data breaches in 2023, up 45% from 2022
05
Financial services breaches exposed 353 million records in 2023, 81% increase
06
Education sector breaches up 150% in 2023, affecting 750,000 students
07
Government breaches rose 75% in 2023, leaking 50 million records
08
Energy sector data breaches doubled to 120 in 2023
09
Manufacturing breaches up 300% in 2023, costing $5 million average
10
Hospitality breaches exposed 10 million cards in 2023, 50% rise
11
Transportation breaches tripled to 90 in 2023
12
Legal sector breaches up 78% to 250 in 2023
13
Non-profits saw 200% breach increase to 150 incidents in 2023
14
Telecom breaches leaked 1.2 billion records in 2023, up 40%
15
Media/entertainment breaches up 90% to 80 in 2023
16
Utility sector breaches rose 50% to 50 incidents in 2023
17
Real estate breaches exposed 5 million records in 2023, 60% up
18
Academia breaches up 100% to 300 in 2023
19
Construction breaches rose 120% to 110 in 2023
20
Agriculture breaches doubled to 40 in 2023
21
Pharma breaches exposed 20 million health records in 2023, 80% up
Interpretation
Data Breaches Interpretation
It seems in 2023 every industry decided to host a 'hacker's happy hour', resulting in an RSVP list of billions of exposed records and a bar tab of skyrocketing breach rates.
02 · Category
Financial Fraud20 stats
01
Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams caused $2.9 billion in losses in 2023, a 7% rise from 2022
02
Cryptocurrency scams defrauded victims of $5.6 billion in 2023, up 38% from 2022
03
Investment fraud via crypto platforms surged to $3.9 billion losses in 2023, 53% up
04
Romance scams led to $1.3 billion losses in 2023, a 20% annual increase
05
Tech support scams cost $1 billion in 2023, 25% more than previous year
06
Elder fraud via wire transfers reached $3.4 billion in 2023, 11% increase
07
Pig butchering scams caused $4 billion losses in 2023, tripling from 2021
08
Gift card fraud drained $217 million in 2023, up 15%
09
Job scams on LinkedIn caused $500 million losses in 2023
10
Cryptojacking incidents surged 29% to 70 million in 2023
11
Prize promotion scams netted $330 million in 2023, 18% up
12
Government impersonation fraud cost $2.7 billion in 2023
13
Rental scams defrauded $400 million in 2023, 30% rise
14
Fake parcel delivery scams cost $500 million in 2023
15
Online shopping fraud losses hit $48 billion globally in 2023, 20% increase
16
Fake check scams caused $300 million losses in 2023, up 10%
17
Vehicle purchase scams netted $80 million in 2023
18
Immigration scams cost $250 million in 2023, 22% increase
19
Lottery scams drained $150 million in 2023
20
Recovery room scams cost $1 billion in 2023, up 27%
Interpretation
Financial Fraud Interpretation
While criminals have diversified their portfolio with alarming creativity, from stealing hearts and crypto to impersonating governments and bosses, the sobering bottom line is that our collective digital wallet is being picked clean at a record and accelerating pace.
03 · Category
Overall/Global Cybercrime Costs20 stats
01
Global cybercrime costs reached $8 trillion in 2023, a 15% increase from $7 trillion in 2022, driven by ransomware and phishing attacks
02
Cybercrime damages projected to hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, doubling from 2020 levels
03
Worldwide cyber attacks hit 2,915 per week in 2023, 30% more than 2022 average
04
Cyber insurance claims rose 50% in 2023 to $1.4 billion payouts globally
05
DDoS attacks peaked at 15 million in 2023, 200% surge from 2022
06
Dark web cybercrime markets grew 20% in listings to 50 million items in 2023
07
Botnet-driven attacks hit 7.9 billion in 2023, 10% annual growth
08
Phishing sites detected rose to 1.5 million monthly in 2023, 25% increase
09
Ransomware-as-a-Service offerings grew 60% to 100 groups in 2023
10
Cyber extortion demands hit $20 billion in 2023, double 2022
11
Malware downloads spiked 35% to 5.5 billion in 2023
12
IoT botnet attacks grew 150% to 1 million devices in 2023
13
Credential stuffing attacks hit 200 billion in 2023, 25% up
14
Supply chain attacks rose 42% to 1,200 in 2023
15
Phishing simulations failed 30% more employees in 2023 tests
16
Ransomware incidents reported to CISA doubled to 1,400 in 2023
17
Cybercrime victimization rate hit 22% of adults in 2023 US survey, up 5%
18
Global cyber attack volume reached 2,200 per organization daily in 2023, 28% up
19
Darknet stolen data sales up 50% to 15 billion records in 2023
20
Phishing accounted for 36% of breaches in 2023 DBIR, up from 22%
Interpretation
Overall/Global Cybercrime Costs Interpretation
The cybercrime statistics for 2023, a year where our collective digital security apparently napped at the wheel, paint a picture of a global heist so brazen it makes bank robberies look like quaint hobbies, with costs ballooning to a staggering $8 trillion and every metric from phishing to ransomware screaming that the bad guys are not only winning but are also having a disturbingly efficient yard sale on the dark web.
More related reading
05 · Category
Ransomware Statistics21 stats
01
Ransomware attacks surged 93% in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022, with over 2,000 incidents reported worldwide
02
Ransomware payments hit $1.1 billion in 2023, 20% higher than $916 million in 2022
03
LockBit ransomware group claimed 1,700 victims in 2023, a 50% increase from prior year
04
Conti ransomware variants caused $1.75 billion in damages in 2023, doubling 2022 figures
05
Ryuk ransomware attacks tripled in 2023, extorting $150 million
06
BlackCat ransomware hit 500 organizations in 2023, doubling victims
07
Hive ransomware extracted $100 million before shutdown in 2023, 40% up
08
Clop ransomware exploited MOVEit flaw for 2,000 victims in 2023
09
Akira ransomware emerged with 50 attacks in late 2023, rapid growth
10
REvil successors hit 300 victims in 2023, up from 150
11
LockBit 3.0 variants caused 62% of ransomware attacks in Q4 2023
12
ALPHV/BlackCat extorted $300 million in 2023
13
Medusa ransomware claimed 80 victims in Q3 2023 alone
14
BianLian ransomware targeted 90 healthcare orgs in 2023
15
Rhysida ransomware hit 100 orgs including hospitals in 2023
16
Play ransomware extorted 60 victims in first year 2023
17
8Base ransomware attacked 200 orgs in 2023
18
DragonForce ransomware claimed 30 victims in Q4 2023
19
NoEscape ransomware hit 60 orgs post-July 2023 launch
20
RansomHub ransomware emerged with 100 victims by end 2023
21
Snatch ransomware persisted with 200 attacks despite sanctions in 2023
Interpretation
Ransomware Statistics Interpretation
Cybercrime's 2023 annual report reads less like a warning and more like a ransom note signed in blood by a booming, diversified, and horrifyingly efficient industry.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priyanka Sharma. (2026, February 13). Cyber Crime Increase Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cyber-crime-increase-statistics
MLA
Priyanka Sharma. "Cyber Crime Increase Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cyber-crime-increase-statistics.
Chicago
Priyanka Sharma. 2026. "Cyber Crime Increase Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cyber-crime-increase-statistics.
Sources & references
67 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
akamai.com