11 Scary Cyber Security Facts and Stats
Every day, the cyber security industry expands at a rapid pace. Although more resources are being deployed to overcome cyber attacks, the industry as a whole still has a long way to go before we can catch up with these threats. Given these alarming 15 Cyber Security Facts and Stats, it’s important that we define the current information security and cyber security industry.
1. In 2016, only three industries accounted for 95% of all breached records.
Government, retail, and technology The reason isn’t necessarily that certain industries are less concerned with the security of customer information. Because of the high level of personal identifying information contained in their records, they are obviously very popular targets.
2. There is a hacker attack every 39 seconds
3. 43% of cyber attacks target small business
4. The global average cost of a data breach is $3.9 million across SMBs ( small and midsize business )
For most businesses, this sum is crippling – not only financially, but also in terms of reputation. Because there is more at stake for public companies, the cost is much higher; on average, a data breach at a publicly traded company would cost $116 million.
5. Since COVID-19, the FBI in the United States has reported a 300% increase in reported cyber crimes.
As if a pandemic wasn’t frightening enough, hackers took advantage of the opportunity to attack vulnerable networks as office work moved to personal homes. They had recorded 12,377 Covid-related scams.
6. In September 2020 alone, 9.7 million healthcare records were compromised.
“83 breaches were related to hacking/IT incidents, and 9,662,820 records were exposed in those breaches,” according to the HIPAA Journal.
7. Human intelligence and comprehension is the best defense against phishing attacks
Thwarting phishing attempts, according to Cofense, comes down to user behavior, and knowing is the greatest approach to protect your company from some of the most frequent hacking methods.
8. 95% of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error
Hackers and cyber criminals will infiltrate your firm through the weakest link, which is often always in the IT department.
The majority of data breaches and exposures are caused by human error or, in some cases, intentional misconduct. Employees frequently threaten their organizations out of boredom, vengeance, or phishing scams from hackers. The majority of attacks, on the other hand, are the result of human error. The most common scenario is downloading a malicious file that releases malware into the internal network, allowing private and confidential company documents to leak over time. Any threat mitigation tool or firewall is rendered meaningless without raising awareness and offering a deeper grasp of best practices through cyber literacy. Threats are emerging from within your own ranks.
9. More than 77% of businesses do not have a plan in place to deal with cyber security incidents.
What’s the worst case scenario? In the last 12 months, an estimated 54% of businesses have experienced one or more cyber-attacks.
10. Even huge firms take nearly six months to notice a data leak.
11. On average, share prices fall 7.27% after a breach.
The lowest point can occur up to 14 market days following a breach. According to Comparitech, finance and payment companies saw the greatest drop in share performance following the breach.
Whether a company is large or small, a data breach has huge consequences. Employees are fired, executives apologize, and entire processes are rebuilt to ensure that it never happens again. They cause consumers to have doubts, harm the company’s brand, and have a long-term impact. A data leak can impact public perception as well as a company’s competitive advantage in the marketplace.
What does it all mean?
Ginni Rometty, IBM’s chairman, president and CEO, said: “Cyber crime is the greatest threat to every company in the world.” And she was absolutely correct.
Cyber crime may become the greatest threat to every person, place, and thing on the planet in the next five years. With the advancement of technology, so do the hackers. Staying educated and learning helpful cyber security statistics and information is our best defense.
Every person in every firm across all industries has to understand cyber terminology, threats, and possibilities. You are investing in your company’s defense against cyber risks by delivering comprehensive cyber training and education solutions in all departments of your organization, from marketing and sales to IT and InfoSec.