In 2024, the number of data compromises in the United States stood at 3,158 cases. Meanwhile, over 1.35 billion individuals were affected in the same year by data compromises, including data breaches, leakage, and exposure. While these are three different events, they have one thing in common. As a result of all three incidents, the sensitive data is accessed by an unauthorized threat actor. Industries most vulnerable to data breaches Some industry sectors usually see more significant cases of private data violations than others. This is determined by the type and volume of the personal information organizations of these sectors store. In 2024 the financial services, healthcare, and professional services were the three industry sectors that recorded most data breaches. Overall, the number of healthcare data breaches in some industry sectors in the United States has gradually increased within the past few years. However, some sectors saw decrease. Largest data exposures worldwide In 2020, an adult streaming website, CAM4, experienced a leakage of nearly 11 billion records. This, by far, is the most extensive reported data leakage. This case, though, is unique because cyber security researchers found the vulnerability before the cyber criminals. The second-largest data breach is the Yahoo data breach, dating back to 2013. The company first reported about one billion exposed records, then later, in 2017, came up with an updated number of leaked records, which was three billion. In March 2018, the third biggest data breach happened, involving India’s national identification database Aadhaar. As a result of this incident, over 1.1 billion records were exposed.

Phishing, ransomware, and business malware have been the most widespread types of cyberattacks in the United States, resulting in data compromises. In 2024, 455 cases of phishing and its variations were detected. Ransomware followed in the second place, with 188 attacks.

In 2023, the most common cause or delivery of cyber attacks in the United States was Unpatched vulnerability, encountered by 23 percent of companies nationwide. Root cause unknown was the second most common origin of cyber attacks, with 22 percent of the attacks. Phishing and various types of human error were also likely to cause a cyber attack in the examined year.

In the fiscal year 2023, the number of cybersecurity incident reports by federal agencies in the United States was over 32 thousand, around five percent increase from the previous year. This number includes reportings by both CFO and non-CFO Act agencies.

In 2023, when asked to choose the main cybersecurity challenges faced by their organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom, ** percent of respondents named hybrid working models and lack of understanding around cyber trends and threats. The risk posed by the lack of internal training on spotting suspicious activity ranked third, highlighted by ** percent of respondents. Meanwhile, the lack of skills and expertise represented a top challenge for ** percent of respondents.

For the fiscal year 2025, the government of the United States proposed nearly 13 billion U.S. dollar budget for cybersecurity, representing an increase from the previous fiscal year. These federal resources for cybersecurity are set to support a broad-based cybersecurity strategy for securing the government and enhancing the security of critical infrastructure and essential technologies.

In 2023, network intrusion was the most common type of cybercrime attack experienced by companies in the United States, accounting for ** percent of incidents. Business e-mail compromise (BEC) ranked second, with ** percent of data security incidents in U.S. companies. A further ** percent of companies reported having encountered inadvertent disclosure.

In 2018, global spending on cybersecurity was projected to reach around 66 billion U.S. dollars, more than doubling in value since 2011. Utilizing an array of software and IT services, the field of cybersecurity focuses on ensuring the safety of digital systems and information.

Cybersecurity Market

Cybersecurity measures are utilized in companies, government organizations, and among private customers around the world. The field has come a long way from the days of frustrating antivirus software on personal computers, and now includes sizable segments for network security, data protection, and vulnerability management. The amount of digitalized, private information has grown massively in the past decade, increasing the need for more advanced cyber security technology.

Cyber attacks Considering the steady increase in cyberattacks over the years, it is no surprise that the cybersecurity market is growing so rapidly. Hundreds of millions of private records are exposed each year, risking the privacy and security of both individual consumers and businesses around the world. Phishing and network intrusion are the most common types of attack experienced by companies, but preventable mistakes like lost devices and inadvertent disclosures are also relatively common.

According to a 2022 report, a survey among IT decision-makers in the United States found that nearly a quarter of companies that have experienced a cyber attack has lost between 50,000 and 99,999 U.S. dollars. Among the surveyed companies, another 22 percent reported losing between 100,000 to 499,999 U.S. dollars. Overall, four percent have lost more than one million U.S. dollars in a cyberattack.

In 2024, manufacturing saw the highest share of cyberattacks among the leading industries worldwide. During the examined year, manufacturing companies encountered more than a quarter of the total cyberattacks. Organizations in the finance and insurance followed, with around 23 percent. Professional, business, and consumer services ranked third, with 18 percent of reported cyberattacks. Manufacturing industry and cyberattacks The industry of manufacturing has been in the center of cyberattacks in a long time. The share of cyberattacks targeting organizations in this sector in 2018 was at 10 percent, while in 2024, it amounted to 26 percent. The situation is even more compliacted when we look at the cyber vulnerabilities found in this sector. In 2024, critical vulnerabilities in manufacturing companies lasted 205 days on average. IT perspective and prevention With recent technology developments, cybersecurity is crucial to an organization’s success. Realizing this, companies have been gradually increasing cybersecurity investments. Thus, in 2024, the cybersecurity budget worldwide was forecast to increase to nearly 283 billion U.S. dollars. Roughly nine in ten board directors of companies worldwide in professional services and media and entertainment industries say they expect an increase in the cybersecurity budget.

In the fiscal year 2023, the U.S. government encountered ***** e-mail or phishing attacks. The majority of these attacks targeted CFO act agencies. Attacks that occurred due to a violation of an organization's acceptable usage by an authorized user, excluding mentioned categories, amounted to over ****** cases.

Cyber attacks on businesses are becoming more frequent, targeted, and complex. The effects of a cyber attack go well beyond the direct financial consequences. In 2022, United Kingdom had the highest average cost of cyberattacks, at **** thousand U.S. dollars.

As of 2024, the average cost of a data breach in the United States amounted to **** million U.S. dollars, down from **** million U.S. dollars in the previous year. The global average cost per data breach was **** million U.S. dollars in 2024. Cost of a data breach in different countries worldwide Data breaches impose a big threat for organizations globally. The monetary damage caused by data breaches has increased in many markets in the past decade. In 2023, Canada followed the U.S. by data breach costs, with an average of **** million U.S. dollars. Since 2019, the average monetary damage caused by loss of sensitive information in Canada has increased notably. In the United Kingdom, the average cost of a data breach in 2024 amounted to around **** million U.S. dollars, while in Germany it stood at **** million U.S. dollars. The cost of data breach by industry and segment Data breach costs vary depending on the industry and segment. For the fourth consecutive year, the global healthcare sector registered the highest costs of data breach, which in 2024 amounted to about **** million U.S. dollars. Financial institutions ranked second, with an average cost of *** million U.S. dollars for a data breach. Detection and escalation was the costliest segment in data breaches worldwide, with **** U.S. dollars on average. The cost for lost business ranked second, while response following a breach came across as the third-costliest segment.

Between November 2022 and October 2023, over 10 thousand organizations worldwide experienced data breaches that included confirmed data loss. Among selected industries, firms in the education and healthcare sector saw the highest number of data violations. Regarding organization size, larger ones were victimized by data breaches more than smaller companies.

According to a 2024 survey, about 49 percent of chief information security officers (CISO) of companies in the United States reported that the leading cybersecurity concern for the board of directors (BOD) was the disruption to operations following a cyberattack. Furthermore, approximately 49 percent of respondents said the impact on business valuation was possible consequences of cyberattacks that the board of directors (BOD) is worried about.

Both in 2022 and in 2024 in the United States, the biggest barrier states faced in addressing cybersecurity threats was legacy infrastructure and solutions to support emerging threats, with ** and ** percent of respondents mentioning it, respectively. Additionally, as of 2024, increasing sophistication of threats constituted a key obstacle for over ** percent of respondents.

In 2022, around 80 percent of the manufacturing companies in the United States anticipated a cyber attack within the following year. Only a few years back, in 2018, this share stood at 64 percent. This development is partially connected to the growing number of cyber attacks in the manufacturing sector and companies' increasing awareness of cybercrime.

In 2022, around 480,000 incidents of cyberattacks were reported in the United States. The figure has gradually increased since 2016, when approximately 250,000 cyberattacks were registered nationwide. The number saw an uptick in 2020, reaching 540,000.

For the fiscal year 2024, the estimated cybersecurity spending of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was more than three billion U.S. dollars, making it the largest budget among the CFO act government agencies, excluding the Department of Defense. The cybersecurity spending of the Department of Defense (DoD) was not reported since the fiscal year 2022. Overall cybersecurity spending in the United States is projected to increase in 2023 with the total estimated agency cybersecurity funding for that year amounting to 10.46 billion U.S. dollars.

U.S. government and cyber security spending The White House released a National Cyber Strategy in September 2018. The overall increase in cyber security spending strongly correlates with the White House’s plan to increase military spending. However, the DoD is the only department with such a significant increase in cyber security spending in FY 2020; most civilian agencies are preparing for budget cuts. Overall, cyber security spending of the U.S. government on CFO Act and non-CFO Act agencies, excluding the Department of Defense, is projected to increase from 9.84 billion U.S. dollars in FY 2022 to 10.89 billion U.S. dollars in FY 2023.

Cybercrime in the U.S. Representing one of the largest digital populations worldwide, the United States reports a considerable number of cyber attacks each year. According to a 2021 survey, nearly 60 percent of online users in the country had experienced any cyber attack, ranking it the third country worldwide by share of cybercrime. In the most recent reported year, around 294 million internet users in the United States were impacted by incidents of data violation. Network intrusion was the most common type of cyber attack across the country.

In 2022, when asked about their main concerns regarding cybersecurity, ** percent of respondents from the United States stated that remote and hybrid work was their main concern, followed by rising external threats. By contrast, only ** percent of respondents were worried about the lack of investment in cybersecurity.