As Cybercrime Costs Soar, Wealthy to Get New Tool From Norton, Aon

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.

Fraud Detection

Tremendous growth is also happening in the global fraud detection and prevention (FDP) market, which is set to expand from $19.5 billion today to $63.5 billion in 2023, according to data compiled by Markets and Markets Research.

This represents a compound annual growth rate of 26.6%, spurred by the growth of electronic transactions and revenue losses tied to cyberattacks.

The most common types of fraud are identity theft, payment fraud, money laundering and other transaction-based offenses, the research group said.

"With the exponential increase in customers using their mobile device for more transactions than ever before, from ordering coffee to transferring money digitally to a friend … , it's not surprising that fraudsters continue to seek ways to exploit the mobile channel, making it imperative to protect against malware and crimeware attacks," said Michael Lynch, chief strategy officer at InAuth, a digital device authentication firm, in a statement.

New York Hub

SOSA, which matches startups and corporations and is working with New York City on the Global Cyber Center, said Thursday that it had expanded the network of venture capitalists and investors in the urban project. Supporters now include more than 100 global firms, such as Eniac Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, WorldQuant Ventures, Team8, Blumberg Capital, Lytical Ventures and Work-Bench.

The project aims to promotes collaboration and best practices in cybersecurity.

"Two industries that are a particular focus for the Global Cyber Center are financial and insurance technology, which are in desperate need [of] cybersecurity innovation," according to SOSA CEO Uzi Scheffer.

With cybercrime "likely to grow exponentially over the coming years and given that New York is the financial capital of the world, it's important that our city is at the forefront of cyber innovation," said SeedInvest CEO Ryan Feit, in a statement. "SOSA is playing a vital role in the advancement of the cyber ecosystem, and we look forward to joining this important and critical initiative."

The project includes cyber-focused discussions, workshops and other events. Plus, cybersecurity firms that are part of investors' portfolios will be connected to financial services companies in New York.