Missouri businesses reported nearly $48 million in losses to cyberattacks in 2025, mostly to business email compromise (BEC) scams, which dominate both the frequency and financial cost of business cybercrime nationwide.Of the 516 total business victims, 355 were targeted via BEC, 73 via ransomware incidents, 61 via data breaches, and 27 via intellectual property theft and counterfeiting, states an Opstream analysis of FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center records.According to Microsoft, BEC is a sophisticated scam where cybercriminals impersonate a company’s trusted leaders to trick employees into sending money or data. Unlike mass phishing emails that cast a wide net, BEC scammers do their homework and may even hack real company accounts.With 20.3 victims per 10,000 businesses, Missouri currently ranks 44th in the nation for corporate cybercrime exposure. The average loss per incident reported to the FBI in Missouri was about $92,300.On the national level, nearly 34,700 incidents were reported last year, roughly a 20-percent increase from the incidents in 2020-24, which hovered at around 29,000.But reported losses were 74 percent higher than in 2020, which Opstream suggests shows an increasing severity of the financial consequences of individual cybercrimes.Ranked first place for corporate cybercrime exposure was Alaska, with the highest concentration relative to its business population at 47.3 victims per 10,000 businesses. But there were only 119 business victims and a $7.4-million loss, about $62,200 per victim.California ranked 28th for corporate cybercrime exposure, with 25.2 victims per 10,000 businesses. But it had the most victims and losses — in 2025, $486.2 million was lost in 4,725 incidents, an average of $102,900 per victim.
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