Cyber Crime Costs Global Economy Whopping USD 445B Annually

Cyber crime costs organizations worldwide USD 445B in annual losses, though most of it may actually go unreported.

Those are among the findings of a new research by the McAfee security unit in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Cyber espionage and stealing individuals' personal information is believed to have affected more than 800 million people during 2013.

Financial losses from cybertheft could cause as many as 150,000 Europeans to lose their jobs and may soon reach USD 575B annually.

The cyber crime greatest damage to the economy has been recorded in Germany, China, USA and Japan - in total, the finanacial losses in these countries are estimated at USD 200B annually.

Cyber crime damages trade between nations, competitiveness, innovation, and global economic growth, and slows the pace of global innovation.

Governments must begin a serious, systematic effort to collect and publish data on cyber crime to help countries and companies make better choices about risk and policy, the report states.