While the staggering projection that cybercrime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025 feels abstract, the 880,418 complaints made to the FBI in 2023 alone make it a frighteningly personal reality.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 880,418 cybercrime complaints representing a 10% increase from 2022
- Cybercrime complaints increased by 22.9% globally in 2023, with 88 million incidents reported
- Cyber attacks occur every 39 seconds worldwide, equating to 2,244 per day
- Globally, cybercrime costs are projected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015
- U.S. losses from cybercrime complaints totaled $12.5 billion in 2023, a 22% increase from 2022
- Investment fraud topped cyber losses at $4.7 billion in 2023 per FBI IC3
- Phishing attacks rose by 58% in 2023, accounting for 36% of all data breaches according to Verizon's 2024 DBIR
- There were over 2.6 million phishing sites detected in Q4 2023 alone by APWG
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams caused $2.9 billion in U.S. losses in 2023
- In 2023, ransomware attacks impacted 71% of organizations surveyed by Sophos, with average recovery costs at $1.82 million per incident
- Ransomware payments hit $1.1 billion in 2023, per Chainalysis, with a 7.3% decrease from 2022 peak
- Average ransomware recovery cost reached $4.88 million in 2024 for large organizations, per Sophos 2024 report
- The 2023 MOVEit breach exposed data of 62 million individuals, one of the largest supply chain attacks
- 83% of organizations experienced more than one data breach in 2023, per IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023
- Global data breach notifications hit 8,432 in 2023, exposing 4.35 billion records
Cybercrime surged globally in 2023, costing billions and impacting millions with record-breaking attacks.
Data Breaches
1The 2023 MOVEit breach exposed data of 62 million individuals, one of the largest supply chain attacks
Verified283% of organizations experienced more than one data breach in 2023, per IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023
Verified3Global data breach notifications hit 8,432 in 2023, exposing 4.35 billion records
Verified4Equifax breach of 2017 still cited, but 2023 saw breaches exposing 353 million records in US alone
Directional55,199 US healthcare data breaches reported 2009-2023, affecting 259 million
Single source62023 saw 2,118 publicly extorted victims by ransomware, per Zscaler
Verified774% of breached records in 2023 from supply chain attacks, per Verizon
Verified8Log4Shell exploits led to 25% of breaches in late 2021-2023, per CrowdStrike
Verified9MGM Resorts breach via vishing exposed 10.6 million guest records
Directional10Change Healthcare breach disrupted US prescriptions for weeks, affecting 1/3 of Americans
Single source112023 breaches averaged 83 days to identify, per IBM
Verified12Snowflake breaches exposed 165 million records via stolen creds
Verified1343% of breaches involved stolen credentials, per Verizon 2024
Verified14AT&T breach leaked call records of 109 million customers
Directional1523andMe breach exposed 6.9 million users' DNA data
Single source1649% of large breaches from vulnerability exploits, per Ponemon
Verified17Ticketmaster breach via Snowflake exposed 560 million users
Verified1812% of breaches led to ransomware deployment, per Verizon
Verified19Oracle breach via Snowflake leaked 2 million records
Directional2078% of supply chain breaches from third-party creds, per IBM 2023
Single source21Caesars Entertainment paid $15 million ransom after vishing
Verified2262% of breaches cost over $5 million including fines, per IBM
Verified23Uber breach via social engineering exposed source code
Verified2434% of healthcare breaches from phishing, exposing 100M records
Directional252023 average breach notification time 49 days, per RiskBased
Single source26Fidelity breach exposed 77k customer SSNs via vendor
VerifiedData Breaches Interpretation
While we're all busy updating our passwords, cybercriminals are increasingly just stealing the master key from a vendor, turning a single hack into a global data heist that makes Equifax look like a trial run.
Financial Losses
1Globally, cybercrime costs are projected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015
Verified2U.S. losses from cybercrime complaints totaled $12.5 billion in 2023, a 22% increase from 2022
Verified3Investment fraud topped cyber losses at $4.7 billion in 2023 per FBI IC3
Verified4Cryptocurrency thefts amounted to $3.8 billion in 2023, per Chainalysis
Directional5Average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, per IBM
Single source6Global cybercrime economy valued at $1.5 trillion in 2023, per McAfee
Verified7Average BEC scam loss per victim $157,000 in 2023
Verified8Confidence fraud losses reached $3.5 billion in 2023
Verified9Dark web monitoring detected 15 billion credentials for sale in 2023, per Digital Shadows
Directional10Global cyber insurance premiums rose 50% to $13 billion in 2023
Single source11Personal info theft complaints 364,705 to IC3 in 2023
Verified12Romance scams defrauded victims of $1.3 billion in 2023
Verified13Tech support scams reported by 18,000 victims to IC3, losses $886 million
Verified14Cryptojacking incidents up 29% to 4 million in 2023
Directional15Extortion via ransomware without encryption rose to 25% of cases
Single source16Job scam losses totaled $645 million in 2023
Verified17Darknet markets transacted $1.7 billion in cybercrime goods 2023
Verified18Prize scams cost seniors $574 million in 2023
Verified19Global ransomware incidents 2,209 per day in 2023
Directional20Cryptocurrency ATM scams rose 20% to $50 million losses
Single source21Underground forums saw 400,000 new cybercrime ads in 2023
Verified22Non-fungible token (NFT) scams stole $530 million in 2023
Verified23Average downtime from ransomware 24 days in 2023
Verified24Global cybercrime compliance costs $200 billion annually 2023
Directional25Elder financial exploitation via cyber means $3B+ losses
Single sourceFinancial Losses Interpretation
If cybercrime were a legitimate global industry, its skyrocketing profit margins and ruthless efficiency would be the envy of every Fortune 500 CEO, proving that sadly, crime does pay—handsomely and at an unprecedented scale.
Incident Frequency
1In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 880,418 cybercrime complaints representing a 10% increase from 2022
Verified2Cybercrime complaints increased by 22.9% globally in 2023, with 88 million incidents reported
Verified3Cyber attacks occur every 39 seconds worldwide, equating to 2,244 per day
Verified4DDoS attacks surged 200% in 2023, with 8.46 million incidents, per Cloudflare
Directional5IC3 complaints per capita highest in Nevada at 1 in 345 residents in 2023
Single source6Cybersecurity Ventures predicts 3.5 million unfilled jobs by 2025 fueling crime
Verified7Online predators targeted 500,000 children via grooming in 2023, per Interpol
Verified81 in 10 organizations hit by ransomware weekly in 2023, per Barracuda
Verified9Europol notes 7,000+ daily cyber attacks on EU infra in 2023
Directional1098% of cyber attacks rely on social engineering, per Verizon DBIR
Single source11Malware encounters up 5% to 5.5 billion in 2023, per Cisco
Verified12IoT DDoS attacks peaked at 3.2 Tbps in 2023
Verified13State-sponsored attacks doubled to 1,200 in 2023, per Recorded Future
Verified1425% of firms faced ransomware, paying average $1.5 million, per Cybereason
Directional15Mobile malware samples reached 12.7 million in 2023, per AV-TEST
Single source16Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure up 380% in 2023, per CISA
Verified176 million spam messages blocked daily by Google in 2023
Verified18Botnet attacks hit 1,000 per second peak in 2023, per Akamai
Verified1999% of malware uses encryption to evade detection, per Zscaler 2023
Directional20Phishing simulations show 27% click rate avg in enterprises 2023
Single source21Zero-day exploits used in 3.8% of attacks but 40% of breaches
Verified22CISA reported 800 vulnerabilities exploited in wild 2023
Verified231.1 million unique malware samples daily in 2023 peak
Verified24DDoS mitigation requests up 50% to 16 million in 2023
Directional2592% of large orgs multi-attacked in 2023, per Accenture
Single sourceIncident Frequency Interpretation
Despite all our technological advancements, the world's criminals have collectively decided that the digital frontier is far more lucrative than the old-fashioned kind, as evidenced by the fact that while you read this sentence, several hundred thousand attacks were launched, a few dozen companies were breached, and an entire generation of cyber defenders wondered if they should just go into floristry instead.
Phishing and BEC
1Phishing attacks rose by 58% in 2023, accounting for 36% of all data breaches according to Verizon's 2024 DBIR
Verified2There were over 2.6 million phishing sites detected in Q4 2023 alone by APWG
Verified3Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams caused $2.9 billion in U.S. losses in 2023
Verified4Verizon DBIR 2024 notes 68% of breaches involved a human element like phishing
Directional5300,497 phishing-related complaints to IC3 in 2023, up 21% from prior year
Single source6Smishing attacks (SMS phishing) increased 358% in 2023, per Proofpoint
Verified7Elder fraud via tech support scams cost $3.4 billion in 2023
Verified8Phishing sites mimicking Microsoft increased 231% in 2023, per APWG
Verified9Vishing (voice phishing) reports to IC3 hit 20,099 in 2023
Directional10Spear-phishing success rate 36% higher with COVID themes in 2023, per KnowBe4
Single source11Quishing (QR code phishing) up 51% in 2023, per Infosecurity Magazine
Verified12BEC impersonation of vendors caused 70% of losses
Verified13Email phishing rate 1 in 99 emails malicious in 2023, per SlashNext
Verified14Proofpoint reports 84% employee click phishing links yearly
Directional15Hybrid phishing (email+malware) up 45% in 2023
Single source16WhatsApp phishing scams surged 1300% in 2023, per Kaspersky
Verified17BEC via compromised email servers hit $43,000 avg loss
Verified18Pharming attacks redirected 2.4 million visits in 2023, per Netcraft
Verified19LinkedIn phishing up 127% targeting recruiters in 2023
Directional20URL phishing variants grew 15% to 1.2 million daily
Single source21SMS phishing success doubled with OTP requests in 2023
Verified22Deepfake phishing fooled 35% of execs in tests 2023
Verified23Generative AI boosted phishing creativity by 400%, per Darktrace 2023
Verified24Brand impersonation phishing up 60% targeting banks
Directional25QR code phishing embedded in 1 in 100 malicious emails
Single source26Malicious SMS volume tripled to 1.3 billion in 2023
Verified27AI-generated phishing emails evaded 65% of filters
VerifiedPhishing and BEC Interpretation
Despite the digital sea of evolving threats from AI-crafted deceptions to smishing floods, humanity remains both the favorite target and weakest link, getting hooked, line and sinker, by the same old trick.
Ransomware
1In 2023, ransomware attacks impacted 71% of organizations surveyed by Sophos, with average recovery costs at $1.82 million per incident
Verified2Ransomware payments hit $1.1 billion in 2023, per Chainalysis, with a 7.3% decrease from 2022 peak
Verified3Average ransomware recovery cost reached $4.88 million in 2024 for large organizations, per Sophos 2024 report
Verified416,243 ransomware victims publicly disclosed in 2023, per Cyble research
Directional5LockBit ransomware group claimed 2,617 victims in 2023
Single source6ENISA Threat Landscape 2023 reports ransomware as top threat, with 66% attack increase
Verified7Conti ransomware shutdown led to 20% drop in attacks mid-2022, but rebounded in 2023
Verified8Ryuk ransomware variant caused $150 million in losses before decline
Verified9BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware hit 0.4% of Fortune 1000 in 2023
Directional10Maze ransomware leaked data from 100+ orgs before disbanding
Single source11REvil ransomware seized by authorities, reducing attacks by 30%
Verified12Hive ransomware dismantled, impacting 80 countries
Verified13Clop ransomware exploited MOVEit flaw for $100 million haul
Verified14Akira ransomware new group hit 100+ orgs in 6 months of 2023
Directional15LockBit 3.0 variant used in 40% of ransomware in 2023
Single source16Rhysida ransomware earned $4 million in 2023 debut
Verified17Vice Society ransomware targeted education 50+ times in 2023
Verified18Play ransomware group extorted 1 TB data from victims in 2023
Verified19Snatch ransomware hit healthcare with 20 attacks in 2023
Directional20BianLian ransomware stole 100 GB from orgs before takedown
Single source21ALPHV claimed 100 victims monthly avg in 2023 peak
Verified22RansomHub emerged post-ALPHV with 181 victims claimed
Verified23DragonForce ransomware hit 30 orgs in first month 2023
Verified24Medusa ransomware leaked 300 TB data before exit scam
Directional258Base ransomware variant active in 200+ attacks 2023
Single source26INC Ransom group claimed 50 victims in 2023
Verified27BlackSuit ransomware earned $100M+ post-Royal exit
Verified28Cyclops Blink malware hit 25 orgs in Q1 2023
VerifiedRansomware Interpretation
Cybercrime in 2023 was a relentless game of Whac-A-Mole, where authorities knocking one ransomware group off its perch only created a vacuum eagerly filled by a dozen more, each demanding a multi-million dollar toll for the privilege of letting your own data go.
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