Cybercrime is on the rise. This is especially true in the U.S. where 90 percent of reported cases come from. There has been a 3.4 percent increase in the number of complaints from 2010 to 2011. All these complaints amount to $485,253,871 in total monetary losses.
Among the top 10 countries having troubles with cybercrime, the U.S. has the biggest portion while Canada only has 1.44 percent of all cases related to cybercrime. Other countries included on the list are the United Kingdom, Australia, India, South Africa, France, Germany and Russia.
In the U.S., California has the highest number of reported Internet crimes with 34,169 complaints. Florida is next with 20,034. Texas has 18,477 cases, and Ohio had 12,661. To address the problem, the government encourages all individuals and businesses that perform transactions over the Internet to comply with the current standards.
The Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act demands that all equipment manufacturers and telecommunication carriers use built-in surveillance technology. With this, the government will be able to track and monitor all Internet broadband, VoIP and telephone activities. In addition, service providers that accept, store and transmit credit card information must adhere to the Payment Card Industry Security Standards that major companies like Visa created.
[lightbox link=”#”]Also Read: How to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi[/lightbox]
Failure to comply with PCI and CALEA standards could cost companies as much as $10,000 per day to as much as $500,000 per breach in fines. The best thing for businesses to do is to carefully choose their service providers. Doing so allows them to ensure that they are getting enough protection against cybercriminals and government penalties.
A good service provider offers legal indemnity agreements that free companies from any liability because consumers take responsibility for their actions on a company’s network. Additionally, there should be authentication technology on computer networks in order to verify user and device identity. Avoid providers that do not offer PCI and CALEA-compliant services to save businesses from hassles and losses.
Infographic presented by GoWifi, leading providers of wireless hotspots.
Featured Image Courtesy: Freedigitalphotos.net
