Average annual cost of cybercrime in Italy 2017-2018

In 2018, companies in Italy lost over eight million U.S. dollars to cyberattacks. This represented a 20 percent increase compared to the figure for 2017. As companies embrace digital innovation, they become increasingly dependent on the Internet. According to the Global Cybersecurity Index ITU (2017), Italy ranked 31st in the world in terms of its commitment to cybersecurity. Despite being one of the EU’s largest economies, Italy lagged behind other European countries such as France, Norway, and Estonia, which were global leaders in this field.

Number and types of threats

In 2019, over three thousand phishing attacks and about two thousand malware attacks were reported in Italy. The banking industry was the main target for phishing attacks, followed by the telco and ICT sector, which suffered 23 percent of the reported phishing attacks.

Cybersecurity expenditure in Italy

In the private sector, companies were increasing their expenditure on information security services. Large companies were driving the growth, accounting for about three-quarters of the total spending in IT security in 2018. Compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became enforceable in 2018, was the main driver behind this spending increase.