My friend fell victim to a catastrophic ransomware attack, forcing him to part with a substantial sum of money to regain access to his personal files. His experience exemplifies just how simply and rapidly these cybercrimes can impact unwitting internet users. Undeserving victims of hacking, identity theft, and phishing are often left facing tremendous financial and emotional strain.

Cybercrime is not a minor issue — it costs the global economy around $600 billion, which is about 0.8% of the global GDP, each year (McAfee, 2018). Ransomware attacks alone caused private users and businesses alike a loss of $1 billion in 2016 (FBI, 2016). These crimes are accelerating at an alarming rate, with a 350% increase in ransomware attacks observed from 2018 to 2019 (PurpleSec, 2020).

We firmly believe it’s time to curb these ongoing threats and push for substantial legislative changes aimed at cybercrimes. Fostering widespread understanding of these dangers should also be a prioritized goal. In addition to advocating for stronger human-centric cybersecurity laws, we aspire to stimulate a broader commitment nationwide to fortifying our cyber defenses.

This campaign seeks to propose stricter laws and policy changes for enforcing cybersecurity and punishing cybercriminals, while also educating the public about the perils of cyberattacks, to create a more secure digital world for everyone. Join us in protecting innocent people from these hazardous cyber threats – help us push for reform. Sign the petition today.