Risk Based Security released our 2019 MidYear QuickView Data Breach Report, and our research shows that we are on track for another “worst year on record” for breach activity.
Within the first six months of this year, there have been over 3,800 incidents reported. Compared to the mid-year of 2018, the number of reported breaches has gone up by 54% and the number of exposed records rose by 52%.
Eight breaches reported within Q1 and Q2 of 2019 accounted for 3.2 billion records exposed; three of these being among the largest breaches of all time.
“Looking over the first six months of 2019, it is hard to be optimistic on the outlook for the year. The number of breaches is up and the number of records exposed remains stubbornly high. Despite best efforts and awareness among business leaders and defenders, data breaches continue to take place at an alarming rate”said Inga Goddijn, Executive Vice President, Risk Based Security.
The MidYear Data Breach QuickView Report tracks publicly disclosed breaches and records exposed within 2019 so far. The key findings include that the Business sector accounted for 67% of reported breaches, which continues the trend observed in the Q1 2019 report. From these breaches, further analysis reveals that the Business sector was responsible for 84.6% of records exposed.
“Quarter after quarter the pattern has repeated itself. The vast majority of incidents are attributable to malicious actors outside an organization. Unauthorized access of systems or services, skimmers and exposure of sensitive data on the Internet have been the top three breach types since January of 2018. However, insider actions, both malicious and accidental, have driven the number of records exposed.’ said Goddijn.
Make sure to download your free copy of the report to learn more about the breach trends and statistics unfolding in 2019.