Cost of cybercrime: does anyone actually know?

Massive data breaches at Target and Home Depot. Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks. Anonymous a war with ISIS. Whether it’s the outright fraud of people stealing information from networks or the type of cyber vigilantism espoused by information leaks or “hacktivist” groups, cybercrime is all over the news.

But what does it all cost?

As much as $65 million per year for some organizations in the U.S., apparently.

So said the recently released 2015 Cost of Cyber Crime Study, produced by research house Ponemon Institute. The range for this year spanned from $1.9 million to that $65 million number—an average of $15 million per organization. The study also indicates that since 2009, the average per-organization cost of cybercrime has risen 82 percent.

Per HP Enterprise study

Per HP Enterprise study

Given the fact that this study was also an advertisement for sponsored by HP Enterprise Security, the veracity of the survey methods may be debatable, but it’s not difficult to believe the number is significant—even if the data is not exact.

I was hoping to cross-reference by looking at other studies, but the only other one I could find that wasn’t outrageously expensive was not put together by an independent analyst firm either. It came from Intel Security brand McAfee and estimated the global cost of cybercrime to be between $375 billion and $575 billion.

Apparently the best we can do globally is to get within $200 billion of an actual value. (Students everywhere wish we were afforded that kind of margin for error.)

While the cost per organization in the U.S. and the total aggregate cost to the global economy are completely different, cybercrime is a huge issue with massive economic ramifications however you slice it.

Despite this dearth of objective information, businesses of all sizes acknowledge that cybercrime is a growing concern. It’s only logical in today’s digital era that as networks continue to advance and become more pervasive, threats do as well. Unfortunately, the threats have become more advanced than the network safeguards developed to keep them out.

The old model required a threat to be defined in order for a program to find and neutralize it, but as malicious code and network intrusion techniques have become more advanced, threats embed themselves into networks and simply reside undetected. Once they’re activated and recognizable as a defined threat, it’s too late for the threat to be neutralized before data is stolen.

Advanced techniques are more proactive in nature and are able to root out some of these dormant threats and patch vulnerabilities, but the arms race between cybersecurity professionals and hacker collectives is on. And the growing costs associated with this ongoing battle are not likely to slow down anytime soon.

Airbnb Faces Safety and Insurance Challenges


Airbnb is facing steep challenges surrounding insurance and safety issues as fatal incidents occur.

Zac Stone’s father, a user of Airbnb, attracted by the rope swing on the pictures, rented a cottage in Texas on Airbnb. Rather than having a good time with the swing on Thanksgiving morning, the trunk the swing was tied to broke and directly fell onto Mr. Stone’s head, “immediately ending most of his brain activity.” Accounted Zac Stone.

Accidents like this are inevitable. The rise of Airbnb offers travelers from all over the world a new approach to traveling and discovering different places; however, despite appealing pictures online, users’ experience with Airbnb can often be disappointing, even threatening. Stories that tell horrible guest experiences with Airbnb can be found easily online. Now that Airbnb faces the challenges with safety and insurance problems, it is important that the app start to think of doing something for its users, not only its hosts but also guests.

Currently, Airbnb offers “free, automatic secondary coverage for liability, in case a host’s insurance company denied a claim.” (New York Times) Airbnb states on its website that its Host Protection Insurance program now “provides primary coverage for Airbnb hosts and landlords…against liability claims up to $1 million USD that occur in a listing, or on an Airbnb property, during a stay.” ( The Host Protection Insurance program is provided through Lloyd’s of London, one of the providers of direct and indirect insurance policies covering many types of risks.

Ever since the enforcement of its Host Protection Insurance, Airbnb announces receiving less than 50 claims filed in the US. Compared to number of fatal accidents that occur in traditional hotel industry annually, the public has yet developed severe concerns for the safety aspect of Airbnb . The downside of Airbnb, compared to hotels, is that when unfortunate accidents happen, there is no one around responsible for immediate rescue.

In addition, under the “Help Center” section, guests will find some “Safety Tips” on that specifically provide safety advice for travelers during their stays. Although guests are encouraged to look for listings that emphasizes safety features including he insurance provided to hosts are not likewise applicable to guest/travelers. Unfortunately, the protection for those who pay for their stays on the website remains missing from the company’s insurance policies.

Airbnb may advise that travelers be responsible for their own safety, but what measure it will take to prevent future incidents from happening remains questioning.–what-are-some-safety-tips-i-can-follow

Breaking down Income Inequality

By Alexa Ritacco

“Income inequality” is a phrase that has been popping up all over the place lately. Personally, I’ve been hearing it pretty frequently in the current race for the White House. It has been brought up in multiple debates, democratic and republican, and it’s clearly something that the public is concerned about. Of course by just looking at the two words, the average person could probably guess what it means. There’s something unequal about incomes in the U.S. Despite having heard the phrase so many times, I still don’t quite understand what it is, what it means, why it exists or how/if it can be fixed. So I decided to begin to delve into these questions for this week’s blog post.

So first and foremost, why has it become such a hot topic? Well, as I discovered, it all dates back to the 1970s. Around then is when, after decades of stability, income inequality began to increase significantly, meaning that higher income households began receiving a higher share of the nation’s total income. The gap between the rich and everyone else has grown steadily by every statistical measure over the past 30 years or so. And just to clarify, income encompasses revenue from wages, salaries, interest on a savings account, dividends from shares of stock, rent, and profits from selling something for more than you paid for it.

30+ years of rapid growth equates to a whole lot of inequality, especially when you compare the US to other countries. Currently the US ranks around the 30th percentile in global income inequality. This is pretty bad. 70% of countries around the world have a more equal income distribution than the United States. I personally find this shocking.

Of course The Great Recession of 2007-2009 had negative impacts all across the board, with everyone from the richest man to the poorest man taking a huge hit from the crash. The increases in income inequality most definitely slowed, but post-2009, things began to increase at an even faster rate. As the effects of the recession reversed, the gap only grew wider. In 2012, the wealthiest percentile saw incomes rise around 20%, while the income of the remaining 99% rose only 1%.

People are frustrated. People are angry. People want to know why this is happening and how it can be stopped. So naturally, it has become a partisan issue. Democrats tend to believe that action can be taken to slow this growth and potentially redistribute some of the wealth of the 1% among the other 99%. Republicans tend to be more skeptical, arguing that redistribution would interrupt the natural flow of the economy. But in a recent effort to connect with more middle class voters, republicans have taken a more vest interest in the income inequality gap. This, as well as more about the democrat views on the issue, is something I plan to explore more in my personal presentation, so stay tuned!




What Retail Looks Like this Holiday Season

Since holiday shopping is about to begin, it’s important to know that consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of GDP. This demonstrates that American consumers are a powerful force for the economy. However, large retail sectors are seeing shares crash. The occurring situation makes the holiday spending season a must needed event, even though it does not look that positive.

An article from the Business Insider called Here’s a Simple Explanation for Why the Retail Business is Brutal went into detail about the recent stock drops in high end retail stores. Macy’s stock fell 14% on November 11th and Nordstrom’s shares were down as much as 16%. Both these company’s earnings widely missed expectations and the future outlook is disappointing.

So why are these drops occurring? Well the retail business is a tough one to maintain and retailers are having to fight harder than ever for their share of consumer dollars this holiday season.

The article also mentioned why retail is a brutal business. “Retail has high fixed costs, high working capital intensity, fickle customers, low barriers to entry,” they wrote, calling the sector a case study for the worst-possible business”. It also mentioned that fixed cost are numerous for retail companies. It has to have the physical space, inventory, personnel, and supply chain to keep the whole system running.

Over time these costs change, usually becoming more expensive. In order to maintain a company profit, it needs to keep moving profits back into the business.

It mainly depends on the consumers and what they want to buy. It could be American Eagle one year and H&M the next.


On a positive note, another article from the Business Insider called 5 Retailers that will Dominate this Holiday Shopping Season lists five retail stores that are ready to strive on sales this holiday season.

  1. Victoria’s Secret- This store is buzzing for the holiday season thanks to innovative products like a new push-up bra. Also, the store is not seasonal because women need under garments all year long. This puts Victoria’s Secret ahead of other retail stores that rely on sweaters and coat sales like Macy’s and JCPenney.
  1. Lululemon- The high end sportswear company is expected to grow sales as much as 12% this holiday season, according to Morgan Stanley. The new brand’s designs differ from other athleisure brands. Menswear is also beginning to gain attraction from Lululemon.
  1. Ross Stores- The discount outlets Ross provides makes consumers and their wallet happy. According to Morgan Stanley, the decline in gas prices will give the middle class more spending power, which will benefit the brand.
  1. Nike- With $28 Billion in annual sales, the company is the biggest player in athletic apparel market. Nike wants to focus on a few key demographics, such as women, runners, and student-athletes, which will help the company grow even larger. Morgan Stanley analysts expect the holiday season to drive growth.
  1. Best Buy- New technology is growing and it is more popular than ever. Some new products will drive sales up. Best Buy has better customer service than others, which benefit the company.