Cybercrime is a particularly fast growing and evolving criminal trade that is unfortunately inadequately understood. In the recent years, there has been a clear proliferation in both the quantity and complexity of cybercrime - rapidly evolving into far more complex and coordinated syndicates; which has enabled a shift away from simply targeting vulnerable consumers to focusing on financial institutions. In a 2008 report,
McAfee states that data theft and breaches from cybercrime may have cost businesses as much as $1 trillion globally in lost intellectual property and expenditures for repairing the damage. However the reputational damage from the publicity of cyber attacks could prove far more costly from undermined trust and brand value tirelessly accumulated.