By Tom Brewster
Cyber criminals will cost the UK economy an estimated £1.9 billion in 2011, according to a Symantec report.
This means that this year, on average, each cyber crime victim will lose £103, the research indicated.
Furthermore, Symantec estimated 19 million Brits, almost a third of the nation’s population, will be affected by cyber crime in some way in 2011.
The UK Government recently committed £63 million to help fight illicit online activity.
The estimates were released on the day the security giant launched its Norton Cybercrime Index in London to help raise awareness of the threats people face today.
The index contains information such as the most dangerous websites, the search terms most hijacked by hackers and popular scams. It can be viewed online, on a mobile device or downloaded.
The data comes from three different sources: the Symantec Global Intelligence Network, risk management firm ID Analytics and DataLossDB and an Open Security Foundation project.
“We feel we need to continue to raise awareness of cyber attacks and the kinds of attacks the public will face,” Laura Garcia, vice president of product management at Norton, told IT PRO.
TV presenter and former Blue Peter host Konnie Huq was on hand to launch the Cybercrime Index Experiential Event, an installation about the Norton Cybercrime Index open to the public until 24 February in Westfield London’s Atrium.
To promote the event, Symantec has released a picture of Huq with a menacing digital tattoo (see below), designed to highlight the dangers of placing personal information online.
Huq will act as a spokesperson to talk about how any data placed online will be there forever, just like permanent ink on skin.
“More and more of our social activity is going online,” Garcia added.
“It’s going to be very important to raise awareness [of this].”
