Report: Cyber theft costs NY businesses $4.6B annually

Putting a dollar number on the losses to businesses from cyber theft is not easy, but Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) took a crack at it. Citing a report by the private security firm McAfee Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., Gillibrand said New York businesses lose about $4.6 billion annually, and on Long Island it's $855 million.

Gillibrand spokeswoman Bethany Lesser acknowledged the methodology used in arriving at these figures yields largely a broad estimate. The annual loss to all U.S. businesses from cyber theft, according to the Government Accountability Office, was $67.2 billion. The senator's office then divided that figure by the number of businesses in New York State and on Long Island.

Gillibrand and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have introduced a bill - the International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act - that would require U.S. assessments of such crimes in other countries, and possible sanctions against those who don't cooperate.

Tim Brown, Islandia-based CA Inc.'s chief security architect, said cyber attacks are worsening, explaining they are no longer conducted by young hackers but are now "organized" and run like businesses.

"The hackers are becoming much more in-depth," Brown said. "That's why it is getting worse. The money is good."

But Brown is optimistic the war against cyber theft can be won.

"Back in the day, we couldn't even get people to think about security," he said. "But in the last five years, people think more about security. We're starting to educate people."

At a glance

What: Cybertheft involves stealing of personal and/or financial information for fraudulent use

How bad is it: Bad and getting worse. The Internet Crime Complaint Center, founded in part by the FBI, reported that in 2008 - the latest year figures are available - 275,284 complaints about cyber theft were filed, a 33.1 percent increase compared with 2007.

Where's it the worst: New York State is second in having the greatest concentration of scammers, according to government statistics. California is second and Florida is third.

The cyber crime economy is so strong that there is a market for professional thieves who want toolkits, available on the black market for $500 to $10,000, according to the Business Solutions Web site. The toolkits offer a range of attack modes.