The report provides unique insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the data breach landscape
With a sizeable part of the
workforce forced to work remotely, the pandemic-powered transition has been mirrored
by the increase in certain types of cyberattacks. Phishing attacks, a
persistent and most acute threat for years, saw an increase by 11%; meanwhile,
the number of ransomware attacks grew by 6% compared to the year prior. A total
of 85% of breaches involved a human element.
“This increase correlates
with our expectations given the initial rush in phishing and COVID-19-related
phishing lures as the worldwide stay-at-home orders went into effect,” reads
the Verizon 2021 Data Breach
Investigations Report.
Indeed, throughout the
pandemic, COVID-19 themed phishing attacks have been popping up left and right.
Initially, threat actors tried to dupe victims by impersonating the World Health
Organization (WHO), however,
more recently, they adapted their tactics and tried to cash in on the
distribution effort with various vaccine scams.
With an increasing number
of businesses taking steps toward digital transformation and transitioning more of their operations to the cloud, the
report also examined the challenges they face along the way and found that
attacks on web applications represented 39% of all breaches.
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“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,” Verizon Business CEO Tami Erwin said in a press release.
The report also carried out
an analysis of 12 different industries and found that while all of them face
cybersecurity challenges, these differ from industry to industry based on
various aspects, ranging from their infrastructure to the type of data they
handle. Personal data accounted for 83% of data compromised in the financial and
insurance industries, whereas in the scientific and technical services they
made up “only” 49% of all breached data.
The most significant threat to the public administration vertical is social engineering attacks, which
were behind 69% of the breaches. Unsurprisingly, the retail industry is
predominantly targeted by financially motivated threat actors looking to make a
pretty penny by obtaining payment cards and personal information.