That pesky 12-year-old Russian kid who infected your PC with malware that replaced all your photos with gifs of dancing bears is costing the American economy a lot more than you imagine. The Wall Street Journal reports that a new study conducted by McAfee and the nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies shows that cybercrime is costing the U.S. government and businesses around $100 billion per year, or roughly one-tenth of what other recent estimates have projected. The Journal says that “one of the key reasons the study’s estimate is lower than many previous ones is that it takes into account the shifting benefits of cybertheft,” since data that is stolen by hackers doesn’t actually disappear.
Cybercrime estimated to cost U.S. government, businesses $100 billion a year
Published Jul 22nd, 2013 10:45PM EDT
If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.
This article talks about:
hacking
Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
