Record Number of Breaches Detected Amid #COVID19

Record Number of Breaches Detected Amid #COVID19

A record number of breaches were analyzed in the Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, with cybercrime thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic.



The study looked at a total of 29,207 security incidents from 83 contributors across the globe, of which 5,258 were confirmed breaches. This represented a substantial rise compared to last year’s report, in which there were 3,950 breaches identified.



There was a significant increase across a number of different attack vectors, which the researchers believe was fueled by the shift to home working as a result of COVID-19. Phishing and ransomware attacks went up by 11% and 6%, respectively, while instances of misrepresentation increased 15-fold compared to the previous year.



Well over half (61%) of the breaches analyzed involved credential data, and, in total, 85% of breaches involved a human element, according to the report.



Additionally, it was found that the rapid shift to the cloud during the crisis was heavily exploited by cyber-criminals, with attacks on web applications making up 39% of all breaches.



The report also noted significant variation in the way different industries were affected by cyber-attacks. For example, 83% of data compromised in breaches in the financial and insurance industries was personal information, while for professional, scientific, and technical services under half (49%) was of a personal nature.



Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business, outlined: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on many of the security challenges organizations are currently facing. As the number of companies switching business-critical functions to the cloud increases, the potential threat to their operations may become more pronounced, as malicious actors look to exploit human vulnerabilities and leverage an increased dependency on digital infrastructures.”



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