If someone asked you to take a wild guess at the world’s biggest crime, what do you think? Burglary maybe? Common assault? Or perhaps you might take a more humorous approach and suggest man buns or women with ridiculous eyebrows?

Well, you might be surprised (and a little concerned) to find out that the most commonly reported crime right now is actually online fraud, AKA cybercrime.

With one in ten people now falling prey to internet fraudsters and over 5 million cases reported every year, cyber criminals are very real predators that can have a devastating effect on lives and businesses.

And these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more cybercrimes are believed to go unreported because victims feel too embarrassed to let on that they’ve been duped by a stranger sitting behind a keyboard.

The digital age comes with lots of well documented pros and cons.  We can now work from anywhere in the world and stay constantly connected, but that has a knock-on effect on our personal lives, and stress levels.

Cybercrime costs billions of dollars every year. That’s  an obscene amount of money by  anyone’s standards.  And the really scary thing is that the ever- increasing industry called data theft is now relatively easy for anyone to get involved in.

Gone are the days of 1980s sci fi movies, where computer hackers were dark, mysterious and possessed savant– like levels of intelligence. Today anyone with the inclination and $50 to spend can pick up a powerful piece of software that will enable them to hack into your computer systems and wreak havoc.

Funnily enough – the best way to be 100% sure a hacker can’t break into your business is to not use computers. We  all know that’s not possible. The second best way is to make sure you have Next-Generation Cybersecurity Protection & Tools in place.