Cybercrime is world’s third biggest ‘economy’

ROME – The scale of cybercrime makes it the third biggest ‘economy’ in the world after those of the United States and China and it poses an urgent threat that requires 3.4 million more specialised IT security professionals to address it, reported Ansa.

According to the annual Thales Data Threat Report, the number of cyberattacks in Italy is on the rise.

Furthermore, Bruno Frattasi, the new director of the national cybersecurity agency, said it is also necessary to account for the attacks that are not reported out of reluctance or fear of losing credibility.

“It is estimated that cybercrime is the world’s third-biggest economy, right after the United States and China,” said Tommaso Profeta, the managing director of Leonardo’s Cyber and Security Solutions Division.

“The scale is very big and this shows the need to have professional figures capable of addressing the threat.

“Today the world has a shortfall of 3.4 million people needed to fill this gap,” he said.

These figures bear witness to the need to focus in a big way on the training of young experts and to generally raise awareness of the dangers of the digital world, as 85% of successful attacks are made possible by human error.

Leonardo has set up a cyber and security academy in order to help meet this demand.

It is a high-level training school that seeks both to train new technical professionals for the sector and raise awareness of these issues to non-specialised personnel who have key roles within firms or the public sector. – Bernama, April 29, 2023