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Facts About Internet Safety

These facts about internet safety should scare you, but also encourage you to better protect yourself on the Web.

By Glenn BushinskiPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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Internet safety is all the rage on online forums, and it has become a matter of national news thanks to the problems Trump has been facing. Because of the many hackers around the world, cyber security has become a billion-dollar industry that prevents trillions of dollars in damage every single year.

Despite all the hard work cyber security experts put in, the truth is that there are still trillions of dollars lost in time, profit, and yes, bank account savings — all because of the power of hackers and the trusting nature of so many people.

If you're wondering how bad the state of internet security can be, take a look at these facts about internet safety in commerce, personal computing, and more.

Cybercrime has caused over $450 billion in damages this year alone.

One of the most jarring facts about internet safety that most people would never guess is how common it is. In 2016, experts calculated that cybercrime, including identity theft, credit card fraud, and cyberattacks, had cost the global economy around $450 billion.

This number is expected to rise as the overall internet commerce world continues to grow. Some even estimate that the total amount of annual damage done will reach as high as $2 trillion by 2019.

Oh, and most businesses don't know the facts about internet safety.

Most business owners really don't pay much attention to keeping their clients' personal information safe and secure. In fact, many don't even know how to prevent cybercrime or how to handle a cyber attack on their business.

One insurer said that around 53% of all businesses are inadequately prepared for a cyber attack. Only 3 out of every 10 businesses are rated "experts" in preventing loss due to cybercrime.

This is pretty bad, since about 6 out of every 10 businesses will face a cyber attack this year — even if it's almost instantly blocked. So, yes, your information can be pretty easily stolen if you go to the wrong company.

You can actually get insured against a cyber attack if you're a business.

One of the facts of internet safety you might not know is that there are a number of groups that work to cushion the financial blow of a bad cyber attack — and they help both civilians and businessmen again.

This would never have been the case years ago, but the fact is that one of the most rapidly expanding forms of business insurance is cyber attack insurance. This form of insurance can help keep businesses in shape after an attack.

Most banks and credit cards also insure regular people against fraudulent charges up to a certain amount of money. So, if you're worried about being held liable, you're in luck. As long as you didn't make the charge, then you are good to go.

Personal information is traded between cyber criminals all the time.

Personal information is bought and sold on places like Silk Road all the time, but that's not the only aspect of this fact that should worry you. One of the most disturbing facts about internet safety is that this also extends to other personal information — such as nude photos, confessions, and more.

One only needs to look up revenge porn to realize how dangerous giving information or the wrong photo to an untrustworthy person can be. In some cases, hackers just remote access computers and cameras to get those pictures, too.

Though there are many states that have laws against this, many still are behind the times.

It often takes laws years to catch up with the rate cyber security evolves.

The laws on revenge porn are an excellent example of this fact. In many states, people who do this kind of cyber crime get off scott-free because there are no revenge porn laws in their state that prohibit them from doing these things.

Buying and selling personal information is only technically illegal. That means that penalties are way lower than they should be, or that criminals may only be addressed in civil courts.

Even spamming, phishing, and ransomware attacks are hard to trace, hard to convict, and even harder to enforce.

So, your best protection is a lot of prevention — and learning as many facts about internet safety and protecting yourself as you possibly can. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

cybersecurity
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About the Creator

Glenn Bushinski

Poli Sci professor, closet protestor, and news addict. Definitely House Stark.

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