"Virtually anyone with a computer and Internet access can wreak havoc. In the U.S., hacker attacks have been documented on county or state government sites".

Trend charts the related losses among business tied to data theft malware in the multiple billions worldwide, with trade secrets and other information that helps rivals gain a market advantage over each other at the middle of the activity.

"Cybercriminals are using malware for financial gain and for geopolitical purposes," said Ferguson. "We have even seen data-stealing malware attacks against U.S. defense contractors - believed to be Chinese - launched to steal confidential trade secrets.

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