Global cybersecurity attacks grew substantially in 2020 and 2021 in both the number of incidents and in their sophistication. It’s an uphill battle, as hackers have begun implementing AI and machine learning tactics to up their game and Malware as a Service (MaaS) is making it easy for anyone to set a large-scale malware attack into play, regardless of their level of technological expertise. Of course, the cybersecurity issues we face globally extend well beyond these factors, painting a dark picture for the years ahead. In 2021, the cost of global cybercrimes is estimated to have reached $6 trillion.1 Breaking that down further means global cybercrime damages amount to $16.4 billion a day, $684.9 million an hour, or $11 million a minute.1
While this equates to an enormous problem on a global scale, each country has its own set of troubles to contend with. Germany has the highest number of financial malware attacks, Bangladesh takes the prize for the highest mobile malware infections, while India accounts for 37% of the world’s data breaches.1 And though we need to continue fighting these growing threats globally, each country has to wage their own war against cybercrime as well.
That brings us to the United States. What are we doing as a country to fight cybercrime?
In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made cybersecurity a critical element of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) mission. An executive order in 2021 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity “establishes that the Federal Government must improve its efforts to identify, deter, protect against, detect, and respond to malicious cyber campaigns and their actors through bold changes and significant investments in cybersecurity”.2
Specifically, the U.S. government is committed to:2
Other Executive Orders have since been signed that further the country’s intentions to make the U.S. more cyber secure. For example, because cryptocurrencies pose such a significant cybersecurity risk, the White House released an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.3 The order outlines the “first-ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology. The Order lays out a national policy for digital assets across six key priorities: consumer and investor protection; financial stability; illicit finance; U.S. leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness; financial inclusion; and responsible innovation”. The White House also recently issued a memorandum on Improving the Cybersecurity of National Security, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community Systems which supports Order #14028. Among the items addressed in the memorandum is the need to modernize our cybersecurity defenses, protect all federal networks, improve the visibility of cybersecurity incidents that occur on these systems, and mitigate cyber threats to National Security Systems.
While these orders certainly push our nation’s cybersecurity agenda ahead, there is still so much to be done. Alongside these orders, the White House continually addresses the nation’s private sector companies, encouraging them to “follow the Federal government’s lead and take ambitious measures to augment and align cybersecurity investments with the goal of minimizing future incidents”.4
The best investment you can make to minimize future cybersecurity incidents is to invest in the type of email security protection that addresses the most commonly used cybercrime tactic – phishing. In 2021, Phishing attacks represented 38.2% of all reported cybercrimes.5 INKY is a cloud-based email security platform that detects suspicious behaviors in order to block threats and prevents data leaks. INKY’s patented technology incorporates sophisticated computer vision, machine learning models, social profiling, and stylometry algorithms to keep you ahead of dangerous phishing threats – all without disrupting productivity. Acting like a security coach, INKY signals out suspicious behaviors by placing one or more of nearly 60 interactive warning banners in each email that continually coach users to make smart decisions.
INKY installation is simple too. INKY is compatible with just about every email platform and our installation team has most customers up and running in under an hour – even with remote employees. Schedule a demo or inquire today.
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INKY is an award-winning, cloud-based email security solution developed to proactively eliminate phishing emails and malware while simultaneously providing real-time assistance to employees handling suspicious emails so they can make safer decisions. INKY’s patented technology incorporates sophisticated computer vision, machine learning models, social profiling, and stylometry algorithms to effectively sanitize emails, rewrite malicious links, detect and block security threats, mitigate sender impersonation, and more. Cost-effective and powerful, the INKY platform was developed for mobile-first IT organizations and works seamlessly on any device, operating system, and mail client. Learn more about INKY™ or request an online demonstration today.
1Source: https://financesonline.com/cybersecurity-statistics/
5Source: https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2021_IC3Report.pdf