Dear Bernard,,

Have you ever been robbed?

Karen and I have been fortunate to have only been victims of petty theft. Minor things like, having my bike stolen when I was a youth, or a radio from Karen's car when we were first married. A couple of years ago, some change taken when my car was broken into.

These days theft is constantly in the news. The stories have been broadcast about celebrities and professional athletes who have had their houses burglarized. We also have been familiar with stories of muggings, store thefts, and even mobs cleaning out a retail store in mere minutes.

Fortunately, gone are the days of "Bonnie and Clyde" and Dillinger-type criminals. The bank robberies that terrorized people for the most part seem to be left to movies and TV shows. The more damaging theft these days seems to be cybercrime.

According to Cybercrime Magazine (online of course), the amount of cyber theft in the year 2021 was $6 trillion USD globally and would be the world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and China at that time. The magazine also predicted that this amount would grow to $10.5 trillion by this year.

The largest single cybertheft I have heard of happened recently. I will post the link below. However, according to arstechnica.com, last Friday, North Korea took $1.5 billion from Dubai-based exchange Bybit, making the theft by far the biggest ever in digital asset history.

Bitcoin Theft

If I were a student today, one of the areas I would explore for a career would be cybersecurity. A Google search revealed that starting salaries range from $73,000 for first-year analysts to $98,000 for entry level managers. Ziprecruiter.com has Michigan lagging the country with average pay of almost $116,000 per year at $56 an hour. Compare this to the national average of $132,000 per year with a maximum of over $162,000.

There are also many ways to partake in the cybersecurity process. In addition to what you can do to protect yourself (proper passwords, changing them frequently, cyber protection for your phone and home and computer, just to name a few) there are also investment opportunities. These can include mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and even direct stock ownership. While these options may not be right for you, if you have an interest, they may be something worth exploring.

If you have any questions, have investments that you feel need to be reviewed, or just want to talk, please feel free to give us a call.

As always, thanks for reading.