LONDON, UK - January 2021
ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity has conducted a study into the state of cybercrime in the United Kingdom, looking at which areas have seen the highest number of cybercrimes committed as well as the most common cybercrimes committed.
The UK has seen a slight decrease of 2.97% in the number of cybercrimes committed in 2021. London was the area that saw the highest number of cybercrimes committed.
Areas with the highest rates of cybercrime per 100,000 people
When looking at total cybercrime reports in 2021, it is no surprise to see London out in front with over 5,000 reports. The capital was followed by the West Midlands (1,242) and Thames Valley (1,142). Cumbria was the area that saw the smallest amount of cybercrimes committed with 174 reported in 2021, it was followed by Cleveland (194) and Dyfed-Powys (213).
Looking at the data from the report, we can see clearly that the country’s wealthiest areas of the country are the most heavily targeted for cybercrime. The top 7 most targeted areas fall within the top 10 wealthiest counties by GVA (Gross Value Added) per capita (1), and the 5 of the top 10 most targeted areas rank within the top 10 wealthiest counties (2) by GRP per capita. While this is not unexpected, it shows clearly that the cyber criminals are taking aim at the bigger fish in the pond.
Areas with the biggest decrease in cybercrime
There were only three areas in our research that saw an increase in cybercrime reports, Norfolk saw the biggest increase by 19.83%, Nottinghamshire (0.52%) and Northamptonshire (0.25%) followed.
The most common types of cybercrime in the UK
Cybercrimes categorised as hacking made up 85% of the total reported cybercrimes, a 10% increase year on year.
Jake Moore, a Cybersecurity Specialist for ESET, commented on the findings:
“Knowledge is the key to reducing cybercrime and with this noticeable shift in offences reported year on year, it is starting to suggest that people are becoming more savvy at spotting scams and keeping their wits about them. Social media and email hacking, however, remains the biggest threat across the country so people need to remember to implement basic security measures to combat hacking with password managers and turning on multi factor authentication for all online accounts.”
Methodology
The cybercrime data was sourced from the City of London Police’s NFIB Fraud and Cyber Crime Dashboard and refers to crimes committed during 2020 and 2021.
The population data was sourced from ONS Crime in England and Wales data.
To calculate the annual increase, data was used from January 2020 and January 2021 and January 2021 to December 2021.
------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) http://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/economy/grossvalueaddedgva/datasets/regionalgrossvalueaddedincomeapproach/current/gvaireferencetables.xls
(2) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf/81807e19-e4c8-2e53-c98a-933f5bf30f58
For more than 30 years, has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure and consumers worldwide from increasingly sophisticated digital threats. From endpoint and mobile security to endpoint detection and response, as well as encryption and multi-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use solutions unobtrusively protect and monitor 24/7, updating defences in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company that enables the safe use of technology. This is backed by ESET’s R&D centres worldwide, working in support of our shared future. For more information, visit our or follow us on , , and .