13 Spooky Cybersecurity Facts for Halloween and Cyber Security Awareness Month

• October 28th, 2020
antivirus, Data Privacy, Data Protection, Holidays

We celebrate Halloween this year quite differently than ever before. Due to the COVID pandemic, trick or treating, parties, and events are all cancelled or moved online. ZoneAlarm wanted to bring you 13 spooky cybersecurity stats in light of Halloween and Cyber Security Awareness Month:

1. Google blocks 18 million COVID related phishing emails a day!
2. Cybercrime reports to the FBI have increased by nearly 400% during COVID.
3. The estimated cost of ransomware attacks: 2020 – $20 billion. 2019 – $11.5 billion. 2018 – $8 billion.
4. 46% of SMBs have been targeted by ransomware, 73% have paid the ransom
5. $7.68 Million is the average cost of an insider-related cyber incident for SMBs
6. It takes 314 days in average to contain a data breach
7. Only 5% of companies’ folders are properly protected, on average.
8. Data breaches exposed 4.1 billion records in the first half of 2019.
9. 71% of breaches were financially motivated and 25% were motivated by espionage. 
10. 52% of breaches featured hacking, 28% involved malware and 32–33% included phishing or social engineering, respective.
11. Hackers attack every 39 seconds, on average 2,244 times a day.
12. 98% of cyberattacks rely on social engineering.
13. Damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021.

Sometimes you just have to resist the temptation to go for what seems like a sweet treat as it can turn out to be a cruel trick. Hopefully the stats described in this article will help you be aware of the different types of cyberattacks and how wide-spread they are.

What can I do?

1. Learn about phishing attacks and how to protect yourself from them.
2. Learn how to protect yourself from ransomware attacks.
3. Beyond using your better judgement, get ZoneAlarm Extreme Security. It’s an easy to install software for your PC and mobile device (iPhone, Android, and tablet) and it contains everything you need in order to protect yourself against all kinds of cyberattacks. For instance for phishing attacks, ZoneAlarm’s Zero-Phishing feature can help (also part of the ZoneAlarm Extreme Security). It scans and removes websites before you get a chance to insert your personal information and alerts you if it’s a safe to use or a phishing site. ZoneAlarm’s Extreme Security also offers protection against more types of cyber-attacks, such as ransomware, advanced viruses and malware, malicious file downloads, and more. It can be used on as many devices as you need.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!