Cybercrime disrupts both SMEs and large organizations on a daily basis so they must come to terms with this new operational reality.

The digital transformation of businesses and organizations has accelerated and is now an operational reality. The economy itself is currently digital.

In fact, cybercrime is now a sizeable underground economy and an international marketplace where malware, zero-day vulnerabilities, trade secrets and other corporate data are traded and kidnappings occur.

Criminals target a range of systems from cloud computing to company servers that are connected to the global IT network, the Internet.

Cybercrime is causing significant damage to the global economy

The cost of cybercrime in 2024 is estimated at US$9.22 trillion, while the global GDP in 2024 is estimated at US$109 trillion.

Cybercrime represents 10% of the global economy which is much too high! It currently costs the economy more than inflation.

The origin of today’s cyberattacks

Cyberattacks are carried out by international criminal groups, activists, state-sponsored mercenaries and opportunists, attackers and cyberpirates with financial, strategic and political motivations.

The motivations of certain groups can have global economic impacts. Indeed, the theft of information during certain incidents is sometimes directly linked to industrial espionage aimed at market domination.

Research and development investments in certain countries are undermined by these practices and cybercrime can even destabilize governments and change public opinion.

As we have seen, cyberattacks go far beyond simple computer incidents.

Artificial intelligence also equips criminals

Technological vulnerabilities such as zero-day vulnerabilities in software are exploited by automated robots and scripts.

They give attackers privileged access to corporate networks and are sold to those interested in carrying out more advanced attacks.

Vulnerabilities pave the way for ransomware distributors and operators, for example.

Now that criminals have access to artificial intelligence (AI), their operational capacity and efficiency have significantly increased. It has become easier to imitate an executive’s voice and even impersonate them in a video call using deep fake techniques.

The role of human trafficking in cybercrime

Lastly, human trafficking has played a major role in the strategies of criminal groups for many years. The FBI in the US has issued many warnings about this reality. To improve their chances of successful attacks, criminal networks have resorted to targeting undocumented workers and forcing them to work for their online criminal network. These individuals are threatened and forced to commit fraud and use their cultural knowledge of the targets to bypass business defences and processes.

The importance of validation procedures

Following established procedures has never been so important. Before taking action and processing a request or order, for example, it must be validated.

For example, a video call requesting an urgent bank transfer should be validated using another communication channel (email confirmation or code, etc.) that a cyberattacker would not have access to.

Reject the status quo and improve the situation

Cyberattacks on SMEs have become so common that they no longer make the headlines. Hundreds of organizations have their data stolen or destroyed every day and the data is then advertised for sale on the dark web by criminal groups.

The rules and regulations adopted by governments are often perceived as an additional burden, but they serve as levers in the fight against cybercrime. Think about new regulations regarding artificial intelligence, including Law 25 in Québec and the GDPR and NIS2 in the EU.

Law 25 in Québec, for example, was drafted in response to the European GDPR to ensure that European companies have the same requirements as those in Québec.

New standards in cybersecurity, data protection and innovation (such as artificial intelligence) are aimed at containing abuses and omissions (lack of updates, for example) related to new products on the market and can benefit both organizations and consumers.

By adopting these recommendations, companies can improve their security posture and reduce the likelihood of an attack, or reduce its potential impact on both their own activities and the supply chain.

Indeed, third-party risk management is a key element of risk reduction. As a result, most regulations aimed at ensuring a better security posture for organizations are positively impacting digital supply chains.

Organizations can focus on a more formal risk management process and effective governance by implementing best practices for technology infrastructure management and cybersecurity controls.

A formal risk reduction plan offers a competitive advantage

Cyberrisk reduction has historically been considered an operating cost. However, reducing the risk of cyberthreats offers a competitive advantage and opens the door to more opportunities.

The cost of cyberincidents is estimated at 10% of the economy. Organizations may avoid becoming a statistic and ensure better regulatory compliance by adopting a stronger cybersecurity posture which is formalized, documented, tested and measured.

IT security is an ongoing effort and an integral part of an organization’s change management process. Every change represents an opportunity for improvement.

The need for specialist support

You can choose to focus on support rather than becoming overwhelmed by fear. Benefiting from ongoing support can also help your organization to tackle any new threats.

Calling on specialists who offer managed security and support services can help you save both time and resources while optimizing your risk prevention efforts.