Verizon: The Human Element is Behind Two-Thirds of Data Breaches

May 17, 2024 3:02:47 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Despite growing security investments in prevention, detection and response to threats, users are still making uninformed mistakes and causing breaches.

Phishing and Pretexting Dominate Social Engineering-Related Data Breaches

May 15, 2024 11:15:31 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

New data shows that despite the massive evolution of the cybercrime economy, threat actors are sticking with the basics in social engineering attacks, with a goal at stealing data.

Myth of Massive Data Breach Busted: Big Headlines Mask a Minor Threat

Jan 23, 2024 4:21:14 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Ok, I'll admit it, I was swept up in the moment last week and wrote a short blog post that more or less summarized the tsunami of news about that huge data breach initially reported by ...

New ASD Cyber Threats Report Shows A Cybercrime Incident Is Reported in Australia Every Six Minutes

Nov 15, 2023 12:23:48 PM By Jacqueline Jayne

The annual Cyber Threat Report by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) was released this week, containing insights that every Australian business and citizen should read. The ASD ...

AP Stylebook Data Breach Compromises Customer Personal Information

Sep 12, 2023 2:32:48 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

The Associated Press (AP) has disclosed a data breach affecting the legacy AP Stylebook website that led to phishing attacks against impacted customers, BleepingComputer reports.

Data Breaches Involving Social Engineering Attacks Take Longer to Identify and Contain

Aug 23, 2023 3:28:36 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Continuing coverage of IBM’s recently-released Cost of a Data Breach report, we focus on the impact attacks involving social engineering have on data breach costs.

Phishing Tops the List as the Most Costly Initial Attack Vector in Data Breaches

Aug 23, 2023 8:59:37 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

After you come to grips with the massive average cost of a data breach to an enterprise organization measured in the millions, it’s time to look at the factors that increase – and lower – ...

Data Breach Costs in Healthcare Rise 53% to More than Double the Average

Aug 23, 2023 8:58:54 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

It appears that one of the most regulated industries also holds the title for the highest average data breach costs – coming in at just under $11 million per breach.

New IBM report reveals the cost of a data breach now tops $4.45 million

Jul 26, 2023 3:21:29 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

IBM Security has released its annual Cost of a Data Breach Report, revealing that the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.45 million in 2023. This marks a significant increase ...

The Number of Data Compromises Jumps 50% in H1 2023, Outpacing Every Year on Record

Jul 20, 2023 3:25:33 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

New data from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) covering the first half of this year shows a significant rise in the number of successful cyber attacks focused on stealing ...

Verizon: Pretexting Now Tops Phishing in Social Engineering Attacks

Jun 8, 2023 7:10:48 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The New Verizon DBIR is a treasure trove of data. As we covered here, and here, people are one of the most common factors contributing to successful data breaches. Let’s drill down a bit ...

Verizon: 74% of Data Breaches Involve the “Human Element”

Jun 8, 2023 6:29:24 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

People are one of the most common factors contributing to successful data breaches. Let’s dive in deeper into the latest Verizon Data-Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) to find out how ...

Protecting Patient Data: The Importance of Cybersecurity in Healthcare

Jun 1, 2023 1:37:09 PM By Javvad Malik

As digital transformation continues to shape the healthcare industry, it is crucial for healthcare organizations to prioritize cybersecurity. These organizations are entrusted with ...

Organizations Have No Idea of a Data Breach’s Root Cause in 42% of Reported Cases

Apr 27, 2023 8:07:38 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

New data shows how poorly organizations are at identifying – let alone removing – an attacker's foothold, putting themselves at continued risk of further attacks and data breaches.

Nearly One-Half of IT Pros are Told to Keep Quiet About Security Breaches

Apr 20, 2023 8:21:59 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

At a time when cyber attacks are achieving success in varying degrees and IT pros are keeping quiet about resulting breaches, there is one specific type of attack that has them most ...

Latitude Forced To Stop Adding New Customers in Aftermath of Breach

Apr 3, 2023 2:32:00 PM By Javvad Malik

Looks like Latitude Finance is trying to give consumers more "latitude" in their exposure to cyber risks. The Australian finance company admittedly fell victim to an attack that has ...

[Eyes Only] New Deepfake Pr0n Site Visits Skyrocket

Mar 28, 2023 10:39:31 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

This is a disgusting topic. It's also a very high social engineering risk. I will keep this post safe-for-work, which is not easy. NBC news just reported on the deepfake economy surging ...

New Modular Attack Chain Found That Allows Attackers to Change Payloads Mid-Breach

Dec 8, 2022 4:33:45 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

We’ve long known developers of cyberattacks to be crafty and focus a lot of energy on obfuscation, but a new attack can shift gears midstream, delivering just the right malware.

[Eye Opener] Work In IT? You Get Attacked Much More Than Other Employees

Oct 24, 2022 3:17:13 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

We received an interesting email from Elevate Security you need to be aware of. Their recent research showed: "Social engineering attacks are growing more sophisticated every day, ...

Recent Optus Data Breach Teaches the Importance of Recognizing Social Engineering

Sep 26, 2022 10:00:46 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Optus, one of Australia's largest telecommunications companies, recently suffered a data breach that affected over 9.8 million customers.

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