LATEST INTELLIGENCE
WHITE HAT, BLACK HAT AND THE
EMERGENCE OF THE GREY HAT: THE TRUE
COSTS OF CYBERCRIME
M
alwarebytes engaged Osterman
Research to undertake an in-depth
survey of security professionals
in five countries. The goal of the research
was to understand the organisational costs
associated with cybercriminal activity and
to understand what motivates some security
professionals to join the ‘dark side’ – i.e.,
to become either ‘grey hats’; who
participate in criminal activity while also
working as legitimate security professionals;
or full-fledged ‘black hats’; who
operate solely within the realm of the
cybercriminal underworld.
About the survey
Osterman Research conducted the survey
during May and June 2018 with a total of
900 security professionals. Two hundred
of these individuals were surveyed in the
US and 175 were surveyed in each of the
following countries: the United Kingdom,
Germany, Australia and Singapore. In order
to qualify for the survey, respondents:
• Must be involved in managing or
working on cybersecurity-related issues
in their organisations
• Must work for an organisation that has
between 200 and 10,000 employees
A wide range of industries were surveyed
but the largest industries represented in the
global survey were financial services/insurance
(10%), manufacturing (10%), retail (9%),
technology (9%) and healthcare (9%).
Please note that where dollar values are
shown in this report, they were collected in
local currencies and converted to US dollars
using published exchange rates as of mid-
June 2018. n
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