Verizon has released its annual report analyzing cybersecurity crimes and patterns in system vulnerabilities across the world.
The 2022 edition of the Data Breach Investigations Report found that ransomware intrusions grew by 13 percent in one year, which amounts to more than the increases in the statistic in the prior five years combined, the telecommunications company said Tuesday.
Hans Vestberg, CEO and chairman of Verizon, posited that while many societal shifts over the preceding years of the pandemic have affected businesses, cybersecurity presents the most pressing area for evolution and change.
“As we continue to accelerate toward an increasingly digitized world, effective technological solutions, strong security frameworks, and an increased focus on education will all play their part in ensuring that businesses remain secure, and customers protected,” Vestberg remarked.
The Data Breach Investigations Report also reflected an overwhelming amount of cyber attacks coming from organized crime; external bad actors were four times more likely to stage a breach than an inside source.
The report additionally confirmed the surplus of supply chain issues that have gripped the business world over the past year, some of which are visible in cybersecurity incidents. 62 percent of system interceptions were perpetrated by a company’s partner, due to the fact that successfully imperiling a business partner can be a force multiplier for cybercriminals.
Based on the study’s findings, the human factor remains the most likely reason an organization’s system is cyber compromised. 82 percent of breaches were due not to a technological weakness but a human mistake, misuse of privilege or a social engineering incident. The latter category alone accounted for 25 percent of breaches.
“While the report has evolved, the fundamentals of security remain the same. Assess your exposure, mitigate your risk, and take appropriate action,” said Dave Hylender, lead author of the DBIR.
