BreachAware, a prominent data protection firm, has issued a stark warning regarding the rising costs of cybercrime, which are projected to reach $13.82 trillion by 2028. Insights from the latest Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon reveal that personal information access remains a major component of cybercrime activities. The report, which analysed 30,458 security incidents and identified 10,626 confirmed data breaches across 94 countries, highlights the prevalence of stolen credentials, which accounted for 77% of web application attacks in the 2024 report.
Additionally, the study found that human-targeted attacks constitute about two-thirds of all breaches, with human error contributing to 28% and third-party or supply chain issues affecting 15% of the cases. These figures underscore vulnerabilities in shared infrastructure or commonly used software.
Following the findings, BreachAware is encouraging business owners to go further than simply protecting IT infrastructure by first establishing the amount of their ‘insider’ personal data is exposed before taking action to mitigate it.
Andrew Alston, CEO at BreachAware said: “Most people focus on protecting IT infrastructure and that the tools and costs are endless but you can check the scale of potential exposure you have and then spend your money wisely to protect your business and its people.”
“The findings of the latest Verizon report may be shocking to the general population but we are seeing hackers using more sophisticated methods of stealing personal information every year. It has never been more important to safeguard your business against these risks.”
BreachAware offers a free scanning service for a company’s email domain which can detect occasions where data has been compromised. This allows users to check any domain and identify data exposed within third party breaches which could be exploited by threat actors and fraudsters.
Andrew added: “Our free scanning tool is invaluable, and thousands of business owners have taken advantage of the information it can provide to inform themselves of the scale of the risks to their business and people.”
“Even if a data breach was identified years ago, the more someone knows about you over a greater length of time the easier it is to use the combined information to your detriment. If your employee data has been compromised, our service can help to inform your cybersecurity strategy and ensure that your people and business are protected.”
Principal Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence and Analytics at Verizon, Bob Carter, is the next guest to feature on the BreachAware podcast ‘WHAT THE PR!V*CY’ which is set to be released on 14 May.
Bob has been a speaker, moderator and expert panel participant discussing many cybersecurity topics including cybersecurity risks, The Internet of Things and insider threats at conferences across North America, Europe and in the UK. LinkedIn previously announced him as one of the top five people to follow in cybersecurity.
Andrew said: “We are delighted that Bob was able to appear on our podcast, and share his extensive expertise in the field of cybersecurity. It was a fascinating conversation and really highlights the importance of business owners doing their due diligence and taking steps if necessary to protect their domains from the risk of data breaches.”
For more information about BreachAware and its services, visit breachaware.com.
