Irrespective of the type of business, most organizations now handle a big chunk of sensitive customer data. This is what makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks and similar other threats. The lack of awareness about data protection and pandemic side effects have led to the sudden rise in data breaches and hacking attempts, making businesses lose millions of dollars. On one side, the average loss resulting from a Cybersecurity breach is increasing. On the other side, organizations are investing more in data protection measures to be on the safer side. 

To better understand the current cyber threats, we have compiled a list of Cybersecurity Statistics for 2023.  

More about Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Statistics

1. The collective data at the global level is expected to reach 175 zettabytes, where one zettabyte has one, followed by 21 zeroes or simply 1021 (Source). It includes almost every type of data, from video streaming apps to healthcare/BFSI databases.
2. One of the main goals of cybercrimes is to acquire sensitive information that can be sold on the dark web. The vulnerabilities in protecting such data are increasing over time, reaching more than 65,000 in 2022 – a 21% rise compared to the previous year (Report).
3. The cost of cybercrimes is predicted to reach $8 trillion this year and then continue to rise toward $10.5 trillion by the end of 2025 (Source). 
4. Most businesses do their part in sensitive data files, including customer information, from being stolen. Still, identity fraud – using an individual’s personal information to commit a crime without authorization- leads to losses worth $52 billion, affecting more than 42 million adults in the U.S. (Source).
5. Another reliable report found that breaches involving stolen or lost credentials are harder to identify and deal with. They also cost $1,50,000 more than the usual data breaches.
   

Statistics Around the Causes of Cybersecurity Threats

1. The human threat vector has been one of the root causes of more than 80% of data breaches. It is the underlying human element that plays a critical role in stealing credentials and the occurrence of phishing attacks, confirms an investigation report.
2. Out of all cyber attacks, phishing attacks grew by more than 60% in the last year (2022). Besides this, 3 million phishing attacks were observed in 2022’s third quarter, making it the worst period ever (Source).
3. Ransomware attacks, which involve asking for a ransom to return sensitive information captured by a breach, have constantly threatened various business sectors. The percentage of users affected by ransomware doubled during Jan-Oct 2022 (Kaspersky Lab).
4. The occurrence of advance fee scams, one of the most prevalent types of email attacks, rose by more than 1000% in Jul-Sep 2022. These scams involve promising a windfall to the user/target if they can pay a certain fee upfront.
5. The attack bandwidth of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks had grown to 957 Gbps in the first six months of 2022 – a 57% growth compared to the previous six months. This took the global count of these attacks to 6 million (Source).
   

Cybersecurity Statistics Around the Cost Involved

1. A business may suffer from the impact of a cybercrime years after its initial occurrence. The total cost of such an attack includes criminal investigations, lawsuits, bad press, and more. An Accenture report clarified that the price of a data breach may rise to $5 trillion or more in 2024. This makes investments in organizational security strategy an essential part of the overall security program.
2. One attack – malware, data breach, or DDoS, costed U.S. companies an average of around $18,000 in 2022 – an 80% rise from $10,000 in 2021 (Source). 
3. One of the costliest data breaches occurred in the healthcare industry at an average of $10.1 million.
4. Global investments in cybersecurity training are expected to reach $10 billion by 2027. This involves investing in both insider and outsider cybersecurity measures. With the rise in Internet penetration, insider and external threats are equally significant.
5. Another side of the cybersecurity statistics sheds some light on security employment. A study has shown that there was a workforce gap of more than 4,00,000 jobs in the field of security in the U.S. by the end of 2022. The number stood at 3.4 million on the global level.
   

Invest in Managed Security Services to Prevent Cyber Attacks

The continued rise in cybercriminal activities has pushed organizations to invest strategically in data security and vulnerability management. For better protection against unexpected threats, switch to Verito’s managed security services.

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