The first joint Government and industry report into the extent and cost of cyber crime across the UK was prepared by the Office of Cyber Security & Information Assurance in the Cabinet Office and research firm Detica. It estimated the annual cost to government and the citizenry at £2.2b and £3.1b respectively, saying: "At a total estimated cost of £21b, over three-quarters of the economic impact of cyber crime in the UK is felt by business," but added: "In all probability, and in line with worst-case scenarios, the real impact of cyber crime is likely to be much greater. The theft of Intellectual property (IP) from business, which has the greatest economic impact of any type of cyber crime is estimated to be £9.2b per annum.

It identified the hardest hit sectors as being pharmaceuticals and biotech, electronics, IT and chemicals. "Industrial espionage has the second most impact at £7.6b, followed by £2.2b from extortion, £1.3b from direct online theft and £1bn from the loss or theft of customer data." The £3.1b annual economic cost of cyber crime to UK citizens includes an estimated £1.8b for identity theft and £1.4b for online scams.

The report recommends that the UK needs a more comprehensive picture of cyber crime in order to tackle this issue and that UK businesses interact closely with government sharing data and raising awareness of threats to their security.

Martin Sutherland, Detica's managing director, said: "The next step is to formulate a more targeted response to IP theft and industrial espionage in particular. We must mobilise joint Government and industry forces to build a coherent picture of the threat and create a consistent mechanism that will allow businesses to report cyber crime without the risk of reputational damage."

That would be the key to getting some sort of realistic estimate, because without such, as the report makes clear, its findings are based on guestimates as much as estimates.

My 'headline grabbing' $A22b the cost to the Australian economy is also likely to be inflated. In reality the cost would proportionately lower for Australia's resource intensive economy. Unlike intellectual property, iron ore, wool and wheat cannot actually be stolen over the Internet, although of course the IP associated with their extraction and production can.