Data breaches could be more costly in 2023

A new report from Acronis has claimed that data breaches could be even more costly next year.

Based on data collected from more than 750,000 unique endpoints distributed around the world, the company’s report claims that the average cost of a data breach is expected to reach $5 million by next year.

To make matters worse — the researchers expect the number of breaches to increase exponentially as well. They said threats from malicious and fraudulent emails were up 60% year-on-year.

New solutions for new attack methods

Moreover, social engineering attacks rose in the last four months of the year as well, and now account for nearly 3% of all attacks. Leaked or stolen passwords and other credentials were the trigger for nearly half of all cybersecurity incidents reported in the first half of 2022.

“The past few months have proven more complex than ever — with new threats constantly emerging and malicious actors continuing to use the same proven playbook to elicit large payouts,” said Candid Wüest, Acronis Vice President of Cybersecurity Research.

Organizations should prioritize end-to-end solutions when looking to mitigate phishing and other hacking attempts in the new year. Attackers are constantly evolving their methods, and are now using common security tools against us — such as the MFA that many companies rely on to protect their employees and businesses.”

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In the third quarter of the year, the proportion of phishing attacks against malware attacks increased by 1.3 times, and now makes up more than three-quarters (76%) of all email attacks (up from 58% in the first half of the year).

Most of the victims were in the United States, but companies in Germany and Brazil were also heavily targeted. Endpoints in South Korea, Jordan and China were also the biggest malware targets.

By digging deeper into the different industries that threaten targeted actors with phishing and malicious emails, the researchers discovered construction, retail, real estate, professional services, and finance, as the sectors most under attack.

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