Eight of the worst computer viruses ever to hit the headlines

As the Internet continues to occupy a bigger and bigger portion of our day-to-day lives, so too does the threat of cyber crime increase. Although the Internet is, for most people, simply a convenient way of spying on old classmates or spending an alarming amount of money before payday is even over, for many businesses in the UK, the possibility of a significant cyber attack is a real and everyday threat.

According to research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the UK’s ‘internet economy’ contributed a whopping £121bn to the UK’s coffers – that’s the equivalent of £2,000 for every Brit – back in 2010. If the figure was that high four years ago, when smartphones and tablet computers were still finding their feet, think what the annual contribution to our nation’s economy must be today – when just about everyone has a smartphone and the majority of businesses operate with some form of online presence.

With all that in mind, it’s perhaps unsurprising that we’re seeing more and more cyber attacks hitting some of the world’s biggest brands, as criminal gangs expand their operations and the nature of the attacks diversifies.

Of course, it’s not just businesses that bear the brunt of criminal activity in the cyber sphere. Experian data has suggested that as many as one in six people have been the victim of some form of cyber attack. Further, there’s been an 80% leap in the number of phishing attacks targeting mobile devices over the past 12 months. However, Experian did find that most people in the UK – about 93% of those surveyed – are clued up on the dangers and have antivirus software in place on their devices.

As there have been so many attacks reported in the media in recent months, at Acumin we’ve decided to look a little further back in the history of dodgy digital dealings, putting together what we believe to be eight of the worst computer viruses.

Take a look at our infographic and feel free to share it on social media or via your own website.

Eight of the worst computer viruses Infographic

<img decoding="async" src="http://blog.acumin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/8-Worst-Computer-Viruses-11-12-2014.png" alt="Eight of the worst computer viruses ever to hit the headlines" /><br />Courtesy of Acumin Consulting