Cybercrime costs are surging, with global damages hitting record heights.
From business downtime to direct financial losses, the financial impact spans nearly every industry and region.
In this article, we’ll break down the latest data surrounding cybercrime costs, comparing recent forecasts and regional differences.
Contents
- Top Cybercrime Cost Statistics
- What is the Global Cost of Cybercrime in 2026?
- Cybercrime Cost Breakdown
- Key Cybercrime Figures & Forecasts
- Cybercrime Cost in the US
- US Cybercrime Annual Cost Over Time
- Cybercrime Annual Cost (Regional Differences)
- Cybersecurity Spending Stats
Top Cybercrime Cost Statistics
- Cybercrime costs are set to reach between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion.
- Business downtime and lost productivity are the costliest outcomes of cybercrime ($500 billion to $1 trillion).
- If it were a country, the cost of cybercrime would rank between 16th and 19th in national GDPs.
- Cybercrime costs in the US alone were projected to hit $904 billion in 2026.
- US cybersecurity costs are over 150x more than Canada’s.
What is the Global Cost of Cybercrime?
According to the latest data, the annual cost of cybercrime in 2025 was at least $1.2 trillion in 2025.
Estimates show that the cost could be as high as $1.5 trillion.
Source: Cyber Defense Magazine
Cybercrime Cost Breakdown
Here’s an approximation of the yearly cost per category in global cybercrime:
- Business Downtime & Lost Productivity – $500 billion to $1 trillion
- Direct financial losses – $150 billion to $250 billion
- Nation-State Attacks & Economic Disruptions – $200 billion
- Brand Reputation Damage & Customer Churn – $100 billion
- Cyber Insurance Claims & Premium Hikes – $50 billion to $100 billion
Source: Cyber Defense Magazine
Key Cybercrime Figures & Forecasts
The cost of cybercrime is approaching astronomical levels. At $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion, this year’s global total is higher than the GDP of most countries.
In fact, according to the International Monetary Fund, it would rank somewhere between 16th and 19th on the list, comparable to Turkey ($1.44 trillion), Indonesia ($1.43 trillion), and the Netherlands ($1.27 trillion).
Fortunately, these figures don’t come close to 2020 projections, which forecast that worldwide cybercrime would cost $10.5 trillion in 2025. Only the US and China have a larger GDP than the 2020-era prediction for cybercrime in 2025.
Sources: Cyber Defense Magazine, Cybercrime Magazine, International Monetary Fund
Cybercrime Cost in the US
According to the latest data, the annual cost of cybercrime in the US was an estimated $639.2 billion in 2025. That accounts for between 42.6% to 53.3% of global cybercrime costs.
Phishing, spoofing, and extortion are among the most reported types of cybercrime. Over 193,000 individuals fell victim to phishing attacks in 2024.
Sources: Statista, Statista (2)
US Cybercrime Annual Cost Over Time
Since 2017, the yearly cost of cybercrime has grown significantly, increasing by almost 33x.
By 2028, US cybercrime is expected to total $1.816 trillion. That’s a rise of around 2x in just two years.
Here’s a closer look at cybercrime costs in the US each year:
| Year | US Cybercrime Cost | Change of Previous Year ($) | Change of Previous Year (%) |
| 2017 | $19.4 billion | – | – |
| 2018 | $37.41 billion | ↑ $18.01 billion | ↑ 92.84% |
| 2019 | $65.47 billion | ↑ $28.06 billion | ↑ 42.86% |
| 2020 | $105 billion | ↑ $39.53 billion | ↑ 60.38% |
| 2021 | $153 billion | ↑ $48 billion | ↑ 31.37% |
| 2022 | $220.1 billion | ↑ $67.1 billion | ↑ 43.86% |
| 2023 | $320 billion | ↑ $99.99 billion | ↑ 31.22% |
| 2024 | $452.3 billion | ↑ $132.3 billion | ↑ 41.34% |
| 2025 | $639.2 billion | ↑ $186.9 billion | ↑ 29.24% |
| 2026 | $904 billion | ↑ $264.8 billion | ↑ 41.43% |
| 2027 | $1.301 trillion | ↑ $397 billion | ↑ 30.52% |
| 2028 | $1.816 trillion | ↑ $515 billion | ↑ 39.58% |
Sources: Statista, Statista (2), Wikipedia
Cybercrime Annual Cost (Regional Differences)
Internationally, few countries rival the US’s enormous cybercrime costs.
Across the pond, the UK is estimated to incur cybercrime costs of $71.4 billion in 2026 – less than 8% of the US’s total.
The gap is even larger in Canada, which is projected to incur annual cybercrime costs of $4.36 billion in 2026.
Regardless, cybercrime costs are increasing across the board:
- In France, 2024 costs of $129 billion are predicted to more than triple by 2028 ($419 billion).
- Spain’s 2017 annual cybercrime cost of $9.41 billion will have ballooned almost 10x in 2026.
- Between 2016 and 2023, Italy’s cybercrime costs grew from $6 billion to $66 billion.
- In Indonesia, cybercrime costs hit $5.51 billion, up from $2.85 billion in 2016.
- Canada’s costs are relatively low compared to many, but there has still been a year-over-year increase since 2017.
Here’s a detailed look at annual cybercrime costs and projections in selected countries since 2017:
| Estimated Cost of Annual Cybercrime | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | US | UK | Spain | Canada |
| 2017 | $19.4 billion | $16.64 billion | $9.41 billion | $2.8 billion |
| 2018 | $37.41 billion | $19.51 billion | $12.73 billion | $2.93 billion |
| 2019 | $65.47 billion | $22.94 billion | $17.45 billion | $3.08 billion |
| 2020 | $105 billion | $27.04 billion | $23.31 billion | $3.24 billion |
| 2021 | $153 billion | $31.86 billion | $30.55 billion | $3.41 billion |
| 2022 | $220.1 billion | $37.47 billion | $38.8 billion | $3.63 billion |
| 2023 | $320 billion | $44.09 billion | $49.42 billion | $3.82 billion |
| 2024 | $452.3 billion | $51.81 billion | $61.63 billion | $3.97 billion |
| 2025 | $639.2 billion | $60.84 billion | $76.15 billion | $4.17 billion |
| 2026 | $904 billion | $71.4 billion | $93.43 billion | $4.36 billion |
| 2027 | $1.301 trillion | $83.76 billion | $114 billion | $4.57 billion |
| 2028 | $1.816 trillion | $98.16 billion | $137.7 billion | $4.78 billion |
Source: Statista
Cybersecurity Spending Stats
As a countermeasure, cybersecurity spending has continued to climb.
In 2025, global information security spend was projected to hit $211.6 billion. That’s up 15.1% on the previous year’s $183.9 billion.
Here’s a closer look at the rising spend on cybersecurity, broken down into segments:
| Segment | 2023 Spend | Change | 2024 Spend | Change | 2025 Spend | Change |
| Security Software | $76.6B | +13.6% | $87.5B | +14.2% | $100.7B | +15.1% |
| Security Services | $65.6B | +13.6% | $74.5B | +13.6% | $86.1B | +15.6% |
| Network Security | $20B | +6.2% | $21.9B | +9.6% | $24.8B | +13.1% |
| Total | $162.1B | +12.7% | $183.9B | +13.4% | $211.6B | +15.1% |
As a percentage of total IT spending, cybersecurity now makes up approximately 13.2%. That’s up by around 1.5x since 2020 (8.6%).
According to IDC, the US and Western Europe combined account for over 70% of all cybersecurity spending.
Sources: Gartner, Cybersecurity Dive, International Data Corporation
Conclusion
The financial toll of cybercrime in 2026 reflects a rapidly escalating global threat, especially in the US.
With year-over-year increases across many regions, the urgency for robust cybersecurity measures has never been greater.
Reversing this costly trend requires a highly trained workforce (from front-line analysts holding an online bachelor’s degree to strategic leaders equipped with an online master’s degree in cybersecurity to direct enterprise defense).