Podcast Center
Video Center
Webcasts
Resource Center
Events
By 
December 13, 2018 at 04:52 PM
On what could be called Cyber Thursday, a flurry of news and industry data was issued by companies and research groups in the cybersecurity field.
Aon and Norton LifeLock, for instance, say they are developing a product that high-net-worth individuals can use to protect their online information and assets from cyber criminals. The tool should be rolled out in the spring.
“High-net-worth individuals can be a lucrative target for cyber criminals,” said Fredrik Torstensson, senior vice president of global consumer sales and consumer digital safety, at Norton’s parent company Symantec. “Attackers have an array of tools at their disposal, but often a simple malware attack paired with social engineering is enough for a hacker to access an individual’s assets and wreak havoc.”
The new HNW cybersecurity product will include risk diagnostics and expanded cyber insurance, as well as access to a support team for claims and a restoration specialist. “Together with Aon, we are helping empower these individuals with the right tools that are tailored to their unique needs,” Torstensson added.
Norton’s 2017 cybersecurity report found 143 million U.S. consumers were victims of cybercrime with total losses of $19.4 billion. Plus, of 5.3 million high-net-worth individuals in the U.S., 77% are more concerned about the cybersecurity risks affecting their personal finances than traditional wealth management challenges, such as market volatility (60%) or changing interest rates (39%), according to a recent Aon-supported poll.
$6 Trillion a Year
Cybercrime could cost the world $6 trillion a year by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015, according to Cybersecurity Ventures’ latest analysis — “the greatest transfer of economic wealth” ever, the group says.
“Cybercrime costs include damage and destruction of data, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of intellectual property, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, fraud … and reputational harm,” according to Steve Morgan, founder and editor-in-chief at Cybersecurity Ventures.
The research group predicts spending on cybersecurity products and services could top $1 trillion in total for 2017 to 2021. It is growing 12%-15% a year.
“This dramatic rise (in damage costs) only reinforces the sharp increase in the number of organizations unprepared for a cyberattack,” said Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO of the global cybersecurity services firm Herjavec Group, in a statement.
The industry growth should lead to a tripling of jobs in this field, with the number of unfilled cybersecurity positions hitting 3.5 million by 2021 — up from 1 million in 2014.
