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vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report: Key Stats

2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report: Key Stats
Hendrik Human Published on 3rd May 2024 Cybersecurity Researcher

Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) revealed a troubling boom in vulnerability exploitation throughout 2023. Instances of vulnerabilities being exploited surged by over 3x (180%) from the previous year. It also uncovered a troubling increase in the use of ransomware and extortion techniques, which were involved in 32% of all breaches.

Verizon manages over 4,200 networks globally, processing 34 trillion raw log files per year. In total, the investigation report analyzed 30,458 security incidents and 10,626 confirmed breaches in 2023. This alone represents a two-fold increase over the year before.

While the sheer rise in cybersecurity incidents is alarming, the report also solidified our understanding of existing weaknesses. The human element continued to be the strongest common denominator in successful data breaches, playing a role in 68% of attacks.

In fact, roughly a quarter of financially motivated incidents in the last two years involved some form of pretexting. Pretexting is where cybercriminals use fabricated stories or scenarios to gain the trust of a victim in an attempt to trick them into handing over sensitive data, downloading malware, and more. It’s commonly used in social engineering tactics, such as spear phishing and whaling.

Over the last decade, the use of stolen account credentials also played a role in 31% of data breaches. Such credentials are gained by cybercriminals via the aforementioned pretexting or via past data breaches.

In terms of the type of threat actors involved, organized crime was by far the most prevalent, being involved in over 60% of cases. Perhaps most alarmingly, though, is that the involvement of end-users (employees or contractors) rose from 11% to 26% in the span of a year.

However, the good news is that Verizon found an improvement in how targets respond to potential phishing attempts in simulated tests. In 2023, 20% of users were able to identify potential phishing and report it before clicking on the email, while 11% of those that clicked the email also reported it.

Beside the human element, other high-instance attack vectors were errors (28%) and third-party software (15%, including software vulnerabilities).

Across all regions, personal or credential information was the leading type of compromised data. This is evidenced in numerous recent high-profile data breaches, such as the recent hack of UnitedHealth Group.

About the Author

Hendrik is a writer at vpnMentor, specializing in VPN comparisons and user guides. With 5+ years of experience as a tech and cybersecurity writer, plus a background in corporate IT, he brings a variety of perspectives to test VPN services and analyze how they address the needs of different users.

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