Key Trends in The Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report 2022

Key findings

• According to the report, ransomware attacks continue to mount pressure on organizations worldwide as researchers recorded a 13% increase in such attacks. This represented a huge jump when compared to the combined figures from the last five years.
• While 40% of ransomware incidents were executed via desktop sharing software, 35% involved the use of email. 
• Social engineering became an overwhelming problem in 2021, highlighting the surge in repeated cybercrime tactics. Among these, human errors and misuse of privileges were responsible for 82% of breaches reported last year.
• Cyberattacks for financial motives remained the top priority for threat actors, accounting for around 89% of the total breaches reported. 
• Poor security implemented across supply chains was attributed to the rise in system intrusions recorded last year. Around 62% of system intrusions were carried out by exploiting the supply chain that involved the use of web applications or software. 
• In addition, organized crime also continued to be a pervasive force in the world of cybersecurity, Roughly 4 in 5 breaches witnessed last year were launched by organized crime. 
• Stolen or compromised credentials were used in roughly 50% of all breaches, making it easy for attackers to intrude into networks. 
• Phishing, previously known vulnerabilities, and malware downloaders were also leveraged in many cases to launch a vast majority of breaches. 

Conclusion