More than 17 billion records compromised in 2023

Last year saw a 34.5 percent year-on-year increase in reported data breach incidents, with over 17 billion records compromised according to a new report from Flashpoint.

This trend looks set to continue as the first two months of 2024 alone saw a massive 429 percent spike in stolen or leaked personal data compared to the same period in the previous year.

Ransomware has seen a significant rise, with an 84 percent increase in documented incidents in 2023. The first two months of 2024 have already shown a 23 percent increase in public ransomware attacks compared to the same period last year.

Ransomware and unauthorized access accounted for more than half of all incidents in major sectors, with the manufacturing and technology industries witnessing ransomware and hacking accounting for more than 85 percent of all publicly disclosed breach incidents.

Over 33,137 vulnerabilities have been disclosed in 2023, marking a significant peak in vulnerability disclosures with more than 52 percent rated as high-to-critical severity according to CVSSv3. Cl0p's single cyberattack exploiting a vulnerability within the MOVEit file transfer application was responsible for 19.3 percent of all reported data breaches last year.

The report's authors highlight the dangers of an increasingly decentralized world:

A unique aspect of a hybrid digital evolution has been the role of decentralized communication platforms and the expanding use of Dark Web communications by both threat actors and friendly users with legitimate needs for protection and undetected attribution.

These platforms have transcended their initial purposes to become digital command centers and sanctuaries for many unfiltered narratives. Their observed impact in facilitating real-time, unedited information flows during the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza has been profound, underscoring the blurring lines between cyber, information, and kinetic warfare and highlighting the strategic significance of data in modern warfare.

You can get the full report from the Flashpoint blog.

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