Cyber crime costs India Rs34,110 crore per year

The annual cyber crime survey carried out in cities across the country reveals that the cost of cyber crime suffered by Indians is around Rs34,110 crore, annually. Norton Cyber Crime Report 2011 reveals that in India, around 29.9 million people fell victim to cyber crime last year, whereas global statistics touched 431 million.

The annual losses globally estimated were around $388 billion (Rs 18,360,159,881,591) on financial losses and time lost due to cyber crime which was significantly higher than time spent in black-marketing drugs.

This year, if proper security measures are not adopted, internet users will lose more money due to cyber crime than ever before.

Over two thirds of online adults (69%) have been a victim of cyber crime in their lifetime. Every second, 14 adults become victims, resulting in over a million cyber crime victims every day.  In India, four in five online adults, which is around 80%, have been victims.

“There is a serious disconnect in how people view this threat,” said Gaurav Kanwal, country sales manager for India and SAARC’s Consumer Business Unit, Symantec. “In a year, three times as many adults surveyed have suffered from online crime versus offline crime. Less than a third of respondents think they are more likely to become a victim of cyber crime than physical world crime in the next year. It requires us all to be more alert and to invest in our online safety.”

The study identifies men between 18 and 31 years of age, who access Internet from their mobile phone as likely victims. The most common type of cyber crime attack was a malware attack, it was followed by a virus attack and the third most common attack was a phishing attack or an online scam. Among those who access the Internet via their mobile phone, only 16% of them have installed the most up-to-date mobile security.

While 74%  of respondents say they are aware of cyber crime, many are not taking the necessary precautions. Forty-one per cent of adults indicated they don’t have an up-to-date security software suite to protect their personal information online. In addition, less than half review credit card statements regularly for fraud which is around 47%, and 61% don’t use complex passwords or change them regularly.