Europol has released a list of the eight most dangerous and increasingly popular cybercrimes that currently pose a threat to businesses and private citizens around the world.

The 2016 Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment report set out what the eight biggest threats are and outlined how criminals are looking to exploit them further.

The eight threats are:
• Ransomware,
• Crime-as-a-service
• Data theft and misuse
• Payment fraud
• Online sexual exploitation
• Abuse of the Dark Net
• Phishing
• Use of virtual currencies for illegal purchases

Europol singled out the Dark Net as being a hot bed for some of the worst content and criminal abuses.

In the report, Europol says: “The Dark Net continues to enable criminals involved in a range of illicit activities, such as the exchange of child sexual exploitation material.”

“The extent to which extremist groups currently use cyber techniques to conduct attacks are limited, but the availability of cyber crime tools and services, and illicit commodities such as firearms, on the Dark Net provides opportunity for this to change.”

Phishing scams aimed at CEO’s are also becoming more and more common. The target will receive an email that tricks them into handing over personal details like passwords and bank account details. The email will usually be a fake from a well-known company like PayPal or HMRC.

“In 2015, law enforcement across Europe reported a number of attacks on critical infrastructures which often included unsophisticated methods such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting but also APT-type attacks,” the report said.

Despite the constant negative news on the current state of cyber crime, Europol did praise global initiatives to curb cyber criminals.

“Locally and internationally, law enforcement agencies are finding new ways to efficiently collaborate on investigations involving the internet across borders and jurisdictions,” the report said.

"There has also been significant change in the engagement with the private sector to share information and collaborate with private industry organisations."

Europol have stated that the media reporting on failed attempts and captured cybercriminals helps to shift the idea the cyber crime is masterminded by unbeatable and unknowable threats into one that shows them as being a human criminal.

Businesses must continue to stay up to date on the latest cyber security if they hope to remain protected from this constantly evolving threat.