Global cybercrime costs US$600bil annually: study

People wearing balaclavas are silhouetted as they pose with a laptops in front of a screen projected with the word 'cyber crime' and binary code, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

WASHINGTON: The annual cost of cybercrime has hit US$600bil (RM2.35tril) worldwide, fuelled by growing sophistication of hackers and proliferation of criminal marketplaces and cryptocurrencies, researchers said. 

A report by the security firm McAfee with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies found theft of intellectual property represents about one-fourth of the cost of cybercrime in 2017, and that other attacks such as those involving ransomware are growing at a fast pace.