Skip to Content
Blockchain

Hackers stole $172 billion from people in 2017

January 23, 2018

As many as 978 million people in 20 countries lost money to cybercrime last year, according to a new report by security firm Norton.

The individual impact: Norton says that victims lost an average of $142 to hackers in 2017, and that each victim spent almost 24 hours dealing with the fallout.

How the US was hit: The report claims that 143 million Americans were affected by cybercrime in 2017, losing a total of $19.4 billion.

The big threats: The leading technique used to extort money from consumers was malware—including things like ransomware and cryptojacking. But fraud and password loss were also big hitters.

Why it matters: Norton says that people are overconfident about their own cybersecurity chops. It’s a reminder that we should all be more vigilant online.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. 

The Biggest Questions: What is death?

New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.

Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist

An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.

How to fix the internet

If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.