(Washington Post) A Washington think tank has estimated the likely annual cost of cybercrime and economic espionage to the world economy at more than $445 billion — or almost 1 percent of global income.
The estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies is lower than the eye-popping $1 trillion figure cited by President Obama, but it nonetheless puts cybercrime in the ranks of drug trafficking in terms of worldwide economic harm.
“This is a global problem and we aren’t doing enough to manage risk,” said James A. Lewis, CSIS senior fellow and co-author of the report, released Monday. . . .
. . . . According to the report, the most advanced economies suffered the greatest losses. The United States, Germany and China together accounted for about $200 billion of the total in 2013. Much of that was due to theft of intellectual property by foreign governments. . . .
. . . CSIS estimated that the United States lost about $100 billion. Germany was second with $60 billion, and China followed with $45 billion.
In both the United States and China, the losses represent about 0.6 percent of their economies, while Germany’s loss is 1.6 percent. . . (read more)
Read Report: Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime; Economic Impact of Cybercrime II (.pdf)
