Nearly one-third of US businesses were breached in 2024
Other key findings show these risk factors:
- 47% = third-party vendors and contractors are the leading risk factor for data loss
- 21% = employee negligence
- 20% = lost or stolen mobile devices
Experts believe the actual number of breaches is even higher than stated here, given many breaches aren’t reported or even detected. Today’s hackers use methods that once inside a company’s network, they are comfortable biding time and exploring their surroundings before taking action – all while going unnoticed by network administrators.
Ray DeMeo, Chief Operating Officer at Virsec told Information Security Buzz, “Unfortunately, these numbers are not surprising and probably underestimate the scope of the problem. For every public example of a data breach there are likely numerous others that have not been discovered. Hackers now leverage extensive “dwell time” – after they have infiltrated a network, but before theft occurs – to survey targets, pivot across multiple servers, find valuable data assets, and plan their exit without leaving tracks behind.”
Ray went on to say that in order to protect themselves, “Businesses need to shift their focus, from hoping they don’t get hacked, to assuming that hackers are already lurking in their networks. Pinpointing suspicious behavior and taking action before large scale damage occurs is more important than ever.”
Read full 1/3 US Companies Breached This Year article
