Excerpt from SCMagazine News Article, Published on Dec 07, 2023
A commissioned data breach report backed by Apple has uncovered a staggering 2.6 billion records pilfered by cyber assailants between 2021 and 2022. Professor Stuart Madnick’s findings emphasize a 20% surge in breaches during the initial three quarters of 2023 compared to the entirety of the previous year.
Ransomware assaults, notably more sophisticated, and strikes on third-party vendors stand as pivotal causes behind this upsurge. The report underscores the criticality of cloud security, attributing 80% of breaches to data housed in the cloud.
Composed of insights from over 200 sources, the report delves into statistics and case studies, highlighting the evolving landscape of data breaches. Ransomware factions like LockBit and Clop exploit varied strategies, from multiple attacks on single victims to ransomware-as-a-service models, escalating concerns.
The shift from encrypting records for ransom to threatening public data leakage poses a grave challenge. The MOVEit hack, which affected over 2,300 organizations and cost billions of dollars globally, serves as an example of how hackers use security flaws in third-party vendors to fuel significant breaches.
Apple underscores the imperative need for enhanced cloud security and encryption, advocating for strategies like end-to-end encryption in cloud storage. Notable strides in data protection by Apple, Google, WhatsApp, and Skiff exhibit evolving efforts to safeguard consumer data against breaches, as outlined in Madnick’s report.
To delve deeper into this topic, please read the full article on SCMagazine
