Russian economy set to lose $44B to cybercrime in 2020

(Reuters) — The Russian economy is set to lose $44 billion to cybercrime in 2020, according to estimates published on Tuesday by Russian bank Sberbank, with the shift to online during the COVID-19 pandemic posing new challenges.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated cybersecurity concerns as more transactions are now made online rather than with cash after lockdown measures and health restrictions reduced footfall in shops across the world.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender with nearly 100 million active clients, said the country’s economic damage from cybercrime may double in 2021.

“On average, we have to deal with 26 billion cybersecurity events every day,” said Stanislav Kuznetsov, deputy chairman of Sberbank’s executive board.

Sberbank, which suffered a leak of customer data in 2019, said it shares its knowledge and experience in fighting cyber crimes with Interpol, SWIFT and other organizations.

The number of crimes linked to bank cards in Russia has shot up 500% this year, interior ministry data showed in October. Sberbank has said it has a 100% success rate in repelling cyberattacks.

More insurance and risk management news on the coronavirus crisis here.