Cybercrime cost the global economy a staggering £2.3 million per minute throughout 2018, according to a new report published this week.

Research from cybersecurity company, RiskIQ, shows that online criminal activity cost the global economy a total of £1.2 trillion in 2018 – this equates to double the financial impact in the year previous. The annual report, titled Evil Internet Minute, examines the scale of malicious activity online.

While the report highlights the impact of cybercrime on a global scale, it also examines the damage being done at an organisational level.

In fact, with each minute that passes, top companies pay around £20 due to security breaches. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchanges also bear a burden when falling prey to cybercriminals, with attacks costing more than £1500 per minute.

Phishing attacks, which have been growing in popularity and sophistication for some time now, also impact global industry – with £14,200 lost every minute.

Looking forward, the report suggests that both the threat and impact of ransomware will continue to grow, with a projected by-the-minute cost of around £17,800.

Other key findings of the report show that, per minute:

• 8,100 identifier records are compromised
• Seven malicious redirectors are detected
• 2.4 phish traverse the internet
• 0.32 apps are blacklisted
• 0.21 Magecart attacks detected

Lou Manousos, CEO of RiskIQ, said: “As the scale of the internet continues to proliferate, so does the threat landscape. Without greater awareness and an increased effort to implement necessary security controls, there will be more attacks using an ever-expanding range of technologies and strategies.”

Tactics employed by cybercriminals range from malvertising to phishing, right through to supply chain attacks, which target e-commerce, such as Magecart hacks that have increased by around 20% in the past 12-months.

Motivations are also varied, research suggests. While monetary gain is a key factor in many attacks, state-sponsored cyber espionage is also a growing issue. Inflicting political and/or reputational damage upon institutions and businesses is also a key motivation for many cybercriminals in 2019.

Manousos added: “With the recent explosion of web and browser-based threats, organisations should look to what can happen in a matter of minutes and evaluate their current security strategy. Businesses must realise that they are vulnerable beyond the firewall, all the way across the open internet.”