from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
Cape Town Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Africa has registered the highest year-over-year increase in cyber crime, with a 277-percent growth.
This is according to findings by cyber security company Surfshark, which conducted a study of the top ten countries found to have the most cyber crime.
The United Kingdom tops the cybercrime density list with 3 409 victims.
This is a 130 percent growth compared to 2019.
The United States and Canada saw an increase of around 50 percent in cyber crime victims since 2019.
Aside from two exceptions of Belgium and India, the overall number of cybercrimes increased by more than 30 percent in 2020.
Aside the above mentioned countries, other nations in the top ten most targeted are Australia, France, German and Mexico.
Since 2001, the online crime victim count increased by 15 times.
This is from six victims to 90 victims every hour and financial losses grew more than 200 times, from US$2 000 to $480 000 losses per hour.
In total, cyber crime claimed at more than 5,6 million victims and $19,2 billion in losses over the 20 year period.
“As more of our lives become digital, the chances of falling victim to online crimes grow every year,” said Vytautas Kaziukonis, Chief Executive Officer of Surfshark.
He said inevitably, the privacy and cyber security landscape would change rapidly over the next several years.
“Now is a good time to focus on personal cybersecurity hygiene to stay safer online,” Kaziukonis said.
– CAJ News