By next year, the average cost of a data breach is expected to reach $5 million.
According to a new Acronis report, data breaches could cost even more money next year.
According to the company’s report, the average cost of a data breach is expected to reach $5 million by next year, based on data collected from more than 750,000 unique endpoints distributed around the world.
To make matters worse, the researchers anticipate a significant increase in the number of breaches. Malicious and phishing email threats increased by 60% year on year, according to the researchers.
New methods of attack necessitate new solutions
Furthermore, social engineering attacks increased in the final four months of the year, accounting for roughly 3% of all attacks. Almost half of all reported cybersecurity incidents in H1 2022 were caused by leaked or stolen passwords and other credentials.
“The last few months have proven to be as complex as ever, with new threats constantly emerging and malicious actors continuing to use the same proven playbook for big payouts,” Candid Wüest, Acronis VP of Cyber Protection Research, said.
“Organisations must prioritize all-encompassing solutions when looking to mitigate phishing and other hacking attempts in the new year. Attackers’ methods are constantly evolving, and they are now using common security tools against us, such as MFA, which many businesses rely on to protect their employees and businesses.”
The proportion of phishing attacks versus malware attacks increased by 1.3 times in the third quarter of the year, accounting for more than three-quarters (76%) of all email attacks (up from 58% in the first half of the year).
The vast majority of victims were Americans, but businesses in Germany and Brazil were also heavily targeted. The malware was also targeting endpoints in South Korea, Jordan, and China.
Drilling deeper into the various industries targeted by threat actors with phishing and malicious emails, the researchers discovered that construction, retail, real estate, professional services, and finance were the most frequently attacked verticals.
