BILLIONS of digital dollars go AWOL to cybercrooks, says study

Cybercrime costs the world $400bn every year – enough to send three International Space Stations into orbit – according to research commissioned by antivirus software house McAfee. Widely regarded as the most expensive object ever created, the International Space Station has cost the world about $150bn so far. But that's small …

[dan1980]

Unless I am coming at this wrong, 'the world' isn't exactly 'losing' money - it's still in circulation. After all, what's the point in stealing money if you don't spend it?

At some point, that money is used to buy legitimate goods and services and thus tax revenues are generated.

If I steal a million dollars and use it to buy drugs, the dealers may then spend it on prostitutes who might then spend it on rent. the land-lord then uses that money to buy food for his family and petrol for his car, at which point it is taxed.

I presume the argument is that these 'legitimate' profits help grow the economy more than if they were stolen but is there any hard research to prove that? Especially when you look at the complex tax avoidance measures some of the big companies are engaged in.

[Bronek Kozicki]

You are both right and wrong.

Yes, thief will likely spend stolen money. But only small proportion of this money can be used immediately anyway, most would have to be "washed" which takes time. During this time the money is removed from circulation.

[Tom 38]

You're so right that in the UK we now have officials which measure and estimate how much hookers and drug dealers add to the economy - and its a LOT.

There is a fascinating BBC article on the data:

Extrapolating from research for 2004, the ONS estimates that there were 60,879 prostitutes working in the UK in 2009. Based on Dutch research they assumed that each one serviced 25 clients a week, with an average price per visit of £67.16.

and

What's important for the measurement of the national accounts is the margin taken by dealers, except in the case of half of cannabis consumed in the UK, which is assumed to have been grown here.

The ONS took figures for drug sales from a one-off Home Office survey of drug use in 2003, which gave them an average amount of drugs consumed per person. It took retail prices from a UN report and adjusted for purity using evidence from seizures by police and border agencies. Comparing this value with the UN's wholesale drugs prices gives the margin that the ONS is interested in.

Each year's figures for demand are derived from the number of drug users shown in the Crime Survey for England and Wales. That gives a figure for 2009 of £3.6bn for drugs other than cannabis and £830m for cannabis.

<3 stats.

[thomaskwscott]

"each one serviced 25 clients a week, with an average price per visit of £67.16."

They're making £87k a year tax free. I went in to the wrong profession...

[Anonymous Coward]

There are costs to take in to account also, plus in your profession you probably don't have to stick 1000+ cocks in your mouth per year (with mine, its just the one, maybe two if his boss comes in also).

[Trevor_Pott]

"in your profession you probably don't have to stick 1000+ cocks in your mouth per year"

Obviously, you've never worked helpdesk.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sooooooooo Right - They are

Given that all Anti Virus firms are playing catchup with cyber crooks after a known attack/vulnerability comes to light, Wondering just how would this company prevent the $400 billions leaving our accounts ?

Blind leading the deaf (& Vice versa).

In other words, please line our pockets, we are suffering.

Didnt neeed to commission a survey ! see?

[Wade Burchette]

Buy our softare, say McAfee

"If you buy our software today, not only will you have a much slower computer, but you will also have the benefit of having a mediocre antivirus program."

[g e]

And what's the betting

That figure also includes the cost of actually implementing grown-up security measures that should have been there in the first place repairing the horrific damage caused

[Anonymous Coward]

It wasn't so long ago we learned this little fact ...

"modern antivirus software only stops around 45 per cent of attack on computer systems and lets the rest through. That's a bit embarrassing for the firm's Norton team, who are still advertising the software as "secure and reliable," rather than "works less than half the time." - Symantec: Antivirus is 'DEAD' – no longer 'a moneymaker' • The Register

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/06/symantec_antivirus_is_dead_and_not_a_moneymaker/