Juniper Research: Data Breaches Will Cost Businesses $2.1 Trillion by 2019

According to the latest study released by Juniper Research, the cost of cybercrime will hit $2.1 trillion in the next four years.

The research highlights the impact of digital attacks across multiple, high-performing sectors, such as e-commerce and m-commerce, with emphasis on payments, banking, and retail.

In 2015, roughly 60 percent of online attacks are due to take place in North America. But as more countries increase their reliance on digital systems, cyberattacks will likely spread to other modernized regions.

Despite the rise of mobile usage and smart devices, most breaches will still target traditional computers and network infrastructure. “Currently, we aren’t seeing much dangerous mobile or IoT malware because it’s not profitable,” said James Moar, author of the study.

“The kind of threats we will see on these devices will be either ransomware, with consumers’ devices locked down until they pay the hackers to use their devices, or as part of botnets, where processing power is harnessed as part of a more lucrative hack. With the absence of a direct payout from IoT hacks, there is little motive for criminals to develop the required tools.”

The report also provides crucial insights on the evolution of cyberattacks.

Security breaches are becoming more sophisticated, usually requiring groups of motivated individuals working as a team. Moreover, the spread of hacking products has made the preparation process shorter and easier to manage. Criminals do not need to spend months developing malicious software. Instead, such individuals can simply purchase tools to generate malware and viruses.

Juniper anticipates that the number of security compromises may decrease in the future, and the successful attacks to become more serious. For affected businesses, the average costs of data breaches are expected to reach a staggering $150 million by 2020.