5 of the Scariest Cybersecurity Stats

Every year, October is recognized as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. It’s only fitting that Cybersecurity Awareness Month ends with the scariest day of the year – Halloween. Below, we’ve compiled some of the scariest cybersecurity statistics that every organization should be aware of. Hopefully, you’re prepared for your Halloween to get a little bit spookier, because these 5 cybersecurity stats just might keep you up at night.

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Cybersecurity Stats

1. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 45% of organizations worldwide will have experienced attacks on their software supply chains, a three-fold increase from 2021.
2. The average cost of a data breach in the United States is $9.44M (IBM)
3. It takes an average of 277 days for security teams to identify and contain a data breach (IBM)
4. According to Verizon, phishing is the most common threat vector and is involved in 36% of data breaches.
5. 82% of breaches involved a human element (Verizon)

How do you Protect your Organization?

While these statistics are alarming, there are some key practices you can implement to protect your organization and make cybercrime a little less scary. Enabling multi-factor authentication, creating stronger passwords/passphrases, and conducting cybersecurity awareness training are simple, yet effective ways to strengthen your cybersecurity environment. You can improve your security posture by running periodic vulnerability scans, backup restoration tests, and audit log reviews. Developing an IRP (incident response plan), BCP (Business Continuity Plan), and DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) can help mitigate risks and control financial impacts during and after an incident; be sure to review and update these plans on an annual basis.

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At Blackink IT, we can assist in creating a secure environment that aligns with the recommended security frameworks for your specific industry; contact our experts to begin improving your organization’s security standing!

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By Deandra Rodricks, Security Specialist at Blackink IT