The latest version of Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) shows that a growing number of data breaches is the result of attacks by state-backed hackers. In the 2018 report, these actors caused just 12% of data breaches, but this number almost doubled to 23% this year. Organized cybercrime remained the top threat actor category, accounting for 39% of data breaches.
The report also found that hacking was used in just over half (52%) of breaches, while one-third (33%) involved social engineering; over a quarter (28%) involved malware; and more than one in five (21%) were caused by errors. The most common motivations behind breaches were financial gain (71%) and strategic gain through cyber espionage (25%).
Read more: Nation state actors, affiliates behind increasing amount of data breaches
