FROM THE WEB: Hackers Cost The Chinese Economy $15bn Every Year

A recent article by Bloomberg has revealed that a staggering 400,000 known hackers in China are taking as much as $15bn from the Chinese economy every year.

Looking at a PwC survey of 330 China-based CEOs and IT directors, the article looks into the devastating effects hacking can have on businesses, and the kinds of information hackers are looking for.

According to PwC, hackers mostly target customer databases and proprietary records, which typically cost each company around $2.6m annually.

And perhaps the most worrying statistic for companies is that 50% of hacks are thought to be inside jobs, carried out by ex or current employees.

Kenneth Wong, PwC’s cybersecurity head for China and Hong Kong said: “Usernames, ID card information, credit card details–it’s very common for all this data to be stolen.

“There have been many incidents where people have gone to websites or trade shows and registered their personal information, and soon after, they will find all their ID information has been leaked online.”

Check out the full article here.