Cyber Crime Falls

Cyber crime has declined for a fourth straight year, and average financial losses have tumbled by more than half, according to the 10th annual survey on computer crime conducted by the Computer Security Institute (CSI) in coordination with the FBI. The survey found that the average dollar amount pegged to a security breach fell by 61 percent, from $526,000 in 2004 to $203,000 in 2005.

Even more important, said Robert Richardson, editorial director of CSI, was the finding that the percentage of those polled who have experienced attacks of various types continued to tail off in 2004. "It's a four-year trend now, which is good news," said Richardson. "It shows that companies are getting better and better at utilizing ... tools like antivirus scanning and firewalls. Also, organizations are getting better at stopping the losses before they get bad."

Courtesy of TechWeb, a CMP Media property.