Moody's claims that the digital revolution has resulted in an unparalleled rise in cybercrime worldwide, changing the ways that security and risk management are seen. Malicious cyber activity has increased dramatically since 2016, driven by the fast growth of digital infrastructure and the growing sophistication of hackers.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike's 2024 Global danger Report identified e-crime, or illegal activity involving computers or the internet, as the most compelling danger in the 2023 cyber scene.

Threats based on identification, social engineering, and the exploitation of connections with third parties were among the other 2023 topics. The study also emphasized new threats like artificial intelligence (AI) that has the potential to make criminality more accessible.

The rise in harmful cyber activity emphasizes how urgently strong cybersecurity defenses and proactive risk reduction techniques are needed. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, a prominent publisher and researcher on the global cyber economy, the cost of cybercrime is expected to increase by 15% a year over the next five years, to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.

The onset of the digital era sparked a radical transformation in criminal activity, as conventional offenses were reinterpreted and magnified by the use of information and communication technology (ICT). Cybercrimes have increased in frequency and intensity, including a wide range of illegal actions from extortion to harassment.

These offenses can occur even in the absence of ICT, unlike cyber-dependent crimes like fraud, although their impact is greatly increased when technology is involved. Law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities face a multitude of issues as a result of the convergence of traditional crimes with digital platforms, which has blurred the lines between the real and virtual worlds.

The prevalence of cybercrimes presents a grave risk to the safety and soundness of people, institutions, and global economies. Cybercriminals threaten personal privacy and the stability of whole economies by breaking into and obtaining confidential assets such as money, intellectual property, and personally identifiable information (PII).

Cyberattacks disrupt every industry, from essential infrastructure and banking and finance to healthcare and other fields, and their consequences are amplified. Furthermore, a climate of dread and distrust has been created by the increase in ransomware attacks and data breaches, which has undermined public faith in digital ecosystems and impeded socioeconomic advancement.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), cybercriminals take advantage of weaknesses in US networks to steal money and intellectual property, endangering vital infrastructure without consequence.

Cyberfraud is defined by the UK National Health Service Counter Fraud Authority as financially motivated cybercrime that leads to fraudulent acts. Furthermore, because medical data on the dark web is so profitable, the healthcare sector continues to be a top target. According to the Federal Trade Commission, fraudsters will lose an astounding $8 billion in 2022, with identity theft accounting for a large share of the more than one million instances they record.

Business email compromise (BEC), identity theft, spoofing and phishing, elder fraud, romance scams, ransomware assaults, and online predation are examples of common cybercrimes. Each presents a different risk to both persons and organizations. The financial effect of data breaches has reached previously unheard-of heights, and the cost of cyberattacks is astounding. The average cost of a data breach worldwide in 2023 was $4.45 million, with US-based businesses having to pay more than $10 million, according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach study.

Deloitte draws attention to the dangers that have been amplified in the post-pandemic environment, including the growing usage of personal devices for work and weaknesses in remote work arrangements. Ransomware is perceived as an increasing danger, according to the ACAMS 2022 Global Ransomware Risks Survey, where 65% of participants said it is a serious worry. In an effort to maximize the number of victims, cybercriminals are refining their strategies and using ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and software supply chains as targets.

Attackers adapt as defenses get more skilled, cutting down on the length of time it takes for ransomware assaults to finish and use backdoor access more frequently to compromise systems. Case studies demonstrate how these cyberthreats really affect organizations, emphasizing how urgently comprehensive cybersecurity measures are needed.

The rise in profiles added yearly for cybercrimes such as hacking, phishing, cyberstalking, online scams, and crimes involving cryptocurrency is evident in Moody's screening database. Since 2020, the number of profiles in our database that pose a danger due to cyber activity has almost doubled.

Governments and regulatory agencies throughout the world have stepped up efforts to strengthen cybersecurity frameworks and establish strict rules in response to the growing danger presented by cybercrimes.

A wide range of regulations, guidelines, and standards that are designed to reduce cyber risks and foster industry resilience make up the worldwide cyber regulatory environment.

The data may be used not just as an early warning system for cyber risk but also as a low-latency stand-in for more general corporate governance and technology management.

Cybersecurity maturity is a good measure of well-functioning systems and risk management as well as a special stand-in for corporate governance. Businesses that strategically invest in internal processes, technologies, and personnel to manage cybersecurity are probably better equipped to manage their businesses as a whole.