Cybersecurity Ventures predicts the global annual cost of cybercrime to reach $9.5 trillion USD in 2024. Viewed as gross domestic product, that would make it the world’s third-largest economy, after China and the U.S.
“Cybercriminals are building out criminal platforms and services, and now franchising out their technology like pizza restaurant franchises,” says Adam Evans, senior vice president and chief information security officer at Royal Bank of Canada.
“You now have ransomware-as-a-service, you have access-as-a-service [in which malicious actors sell access into business networks] and you have malware-as-a-service. The groups involved collect massive amounts of data and use these platforms to target individuals, businesses, family trusts—whatever the case may be,” Evans explains.
Most ransomware attacks can be prevented through the use of basic cybersecurity practices, according to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. RBC Wealth Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, says that five habits form the basis for Canadians to protect their credentials.
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