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.

During the second quarter of 2025, data breaches exposed more than ** million records worldwide. Since the first quarter of 2020, the highest number of data records were exposed in the third quarter of ****, more than *** billion data sets. Data breaches remain among the biggest concerns of company leaders worldwide. The most common causes of sensitive information loss were operating system vulnerabilities on endpoint devices. Which industries see the most data breaches? Meanwhile, certain conditions make some industry sectors more prone to data breaches than others. According to the latest observations, the public administration experienced the highest number of data breaches between 2021 and 2022. The industry saw *** reported data breach incidents with confirmed data loss. The second were financial institutions, with *** data breach cases, followed by healthcare providers. Data breach cost Data breach incidents have various consequences, the most common impact being financial losses and business disruptions. As of 2023, the average data breach cost across businesses worldwide was **** million U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, a leaked data record cost about *** U.S. dollars. The United States saw the highest average breach cost globally, at **** million U.S. dollars.

Introduction

Cyber Security Statistics: Cybersecurity has become a top priority for organizations worldwide, driven by the escalating volume and complexity of cyber threats. As businesses increasingly adopt digital technologies, the risk of cyberattacks, such as data breaches, ransomware, and phishing, has risen, creating significant challenges for data privacy and security.

The increasing frequency of high-profile cyber incidents has exposed vulnerabilities in various sectors, prompting governments and organizations to enhance their cybersecurity measures. In response, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are being integrated to enhance threat detection and response capabilities.

The following statistics offer a comprehensive overview of the cybersecurity landscape, shedding light on the trends, risks, and developments that are shaping this critical field.

Pay attention to the following cybersecurity statistics to learn how to protect yourself from attacks.

According to a survey of global IT security professionals in 2025, malware was the most concerning cyber threat targeting organizations, with a relative value of **** on a five-point scale. Account takeover/credential abuse attacks ranked second, while phishing attacks followed.

Percentage of enterprises impacted by specific types of cyber security incidents by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and size of enterprise.

Introduction

Data Privacy Statistics: As the digital landscape continues to evolve, data privacy has become a paramount concern for individuals, organizations, and governments alike. The increase in cyber threats, coupled with the growing volume of personal and sensitive data being generated, has made safeguarding this information more critical than ever.

Data privacy statistics are essential for gaining a deeper understanding of current privacy practices, consumer perceptions, and the regulatory environment. These figures provide important insights into how businesses are addressing data protection challenges, the effectiveness of privacy regulations such as GDPR, and the public's view on data security.

With incidents of data breaches and privacy violations on the rise, organizations face mounting pressure to implement robust security measures. By examining the latest data privacy statistics, we can better evaluate the risks, the advancements being made in data protection, and the influence of emerging technologies like AI and big data on privacy standards.

The largest reported data leakage as of January 2025 was the Cam4 data breach in March 2020, which exposed more than 10 billion data records. The second-largest data breach in history so far, the Yahoo data breach, occurred in 2013. The company initially reported about one billion exposed data records, but after an investigation, the company updated the number, revealing that three billion accounts were affected. The National Public Data Breach was announced in August 2024. The incident became public when personally identifiable information of individuals became available for sale on the dark web. Overall, the security professionals estimate the leakage of nearly three billion personal records. The next significant data leakage was the March 2018 security breach of India's national ID database, Aadhaar, with over 1.1 billion records exposed. This included biometric information such as identification numbers and fingerprint scans, which could be used to open bank accounts and receive financial aid, among other government services.

Cybercrime - the dark side of digitalization As the world continues its journey into the digital age, corporations and governments across the globe have been increasing their reliance on technology to collect, analyze and store personal data. This, in turn, has led to a rise in the number of cyber crimes, ranging from minor breaches to global-scale attacks impacting billions of users – such as in the case of Yahoo. Within the U.S. alone, 1802 cases of data compromise were reported in 2022. This was a marked increase from the 447 cases reported a decade prior. The high price of data protection As of 2022, the average cost of a single data breach across all industries worldwide stood at around 4.35 million U.S. dollars. This was found to be most costly in the healthcare sector, with each leak reported to have cost the affected party a hefty 10.1 million U.S. dollars. The financial segment followed closely behind. Here, each breach resulted in a loss of approximately 6 million U.S. dollars - 1.5 million more than the global average.

In 2024, ** percent of respondents in a global survey reported that the main risk to data security in the cloud was external actors, such as hackers. Other risk factors included companies' own business employees and IT staff.

Introduction

Endpoint Security Statistics: In today’s digital landscape, endpoint security has become a vital component of organizational cybersecurity. As businesses adopt hybrid work arrangements and expand their digital networks, protecting a growing range of connected devices has become increasingly essential. Laptops, smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices have become frequent targets for advanced cyberattacks, including ransomware, phishing, and zero-day exploits.

The increasing complexity of these threats has compelled organizations to enhance their endpoint security measures by adopting advanced technologies, such as AI-driven threat detection, behavioural monitoring, and continuous real-time surveillance. These sophisticated solutions aim to reduce exposure to risks, safeguard critical data, and ensure seamless business operations in the face of constantly evolving cyber threats.

It started with a strange email. The kind you usually ignore. But for one midsize healthcare firm in Ohio, clicking that link changed everything. Within hours, sensitive patient records were encrypted, and hackers demanded payment in cryptocurrency. By the time IT figured out the breach, over 1.4 million records were...

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.

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.

As of June 2025, the most significant data breach incident in the United States was the Yahoo data breach that dates back to 2013-2016. Impacting over three billion online users, this incident still remains one of the most significant data breaches worldwide. The second-biggest case was the January 2021 data breach at Microsoft, involving about 30 thousand companies in the United States and around 60 thousand companies around the world.

As of January 2025, the most significant data privacy violation fine worldwide was for social media giant Meta. In May 2023, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) of Ireland decided to fine the company with 1.2 billion euros or 1.3 billion U.S. dollars. The Chinese vehicle-for rent company Didi Global ranked second. In July 2022, China's data privacy regulator fined the company 8.026 billion Chinese yuan, or 1.19 billion U.S. dollars. The 2021 Amazon fine issued by Luxembourg's data privacy regulation authorities was 877 million U.S. dollars and was the third-biggest data breach fine as of the measured month. The 2019 fine of 575 million U.S. dollars to Equifax followed. In this incident, because of unpatched vulnerabilities, nearly 150 million people were affected, which caused the American consumer credit reporting agency to pay at least 575 million U.S. dollars.