Health companies and retailers are tipped to be the biggest targets of cyber criminals next year, following a slew of technology breaches and perceived lack of security across the two sectors, according to a new report. 
Credit information and data analytics group Veda said that retailers and health providers will be in the firing line due to previously successful hacks and the allure of client information in companies' databases. 
"Cyber criminals will become more interested in the health sector due to the wealth of data held by healthcare organisations and a perceived weakness in their cyber defences," according to Veda's 2015 Cybercrime and Fraud Report. 
"Emboldened by successful data hacks into online retailers over the past two years, cyber criminals will continue to target the retail sector, with a particular focus on new to online retailers and main street retailers who are building an online retail channel."
The data comes after research from KPMG which found 81 per cent of healthcare executives believed their companies had been compromised by at least one malware, botnet, or other cyber attack during the past two years. 

Credit card fraud
Retailers such as Target have also attracted negative publicity from cyber attacks. Target had more than 40 million credit card details of its customers stolen by cyber criminals. Last year, charity retailer Goodwill Industries suffered a credit card data breach that affected its stores across 21 states in North America. 
Veda's research found that online credit application fraud had jumped 12.6 per cent in the past year, and the majority of fraudulent credit applications occurred online. 
Online fraud now accounts for 50 per cent compared with incidents at bank branches, according to veda. 
"As the delivery of financial services online grows, so does the proportion of fraud occurring online," Imelda Newton, general manager, Veda fraud and identity solutions said. 
"While online fraud continues to grow, the broker channel is also being increasingly targeted by fraudsters. Fraudulent applications for credit via the broker channel grew 24 per cent from 2013-14 to 2014-15 and now represents 21 per cent of all credit application fraud," she said. 
The data comes amid an alarming increase in cybercrimes.
On average, one in four Australians have been a victim of identity theft this year compared to just 7 per cent of individuals in 2014. 
Identity crime costs the Australian economy around $2 billion a year, and $350 million is spent on preventing and responding to these crimes. 
"The internet of things (phones, vehicles, wearables and so forth) is becoming more inter-connected. Data is being recorded on a previously unseen scale and creates new risks for consumers and the vendors of these technologies as cyber criminals seek new opportunities to steal," Ms Newton said.