"17 Billion Personal Records Exposed in Data Breaches in 2023"

According to security researchers at Flashpoint, reported data breach incidents rose by 34.5% in 2023, with over 17 billion personal records compromised throughout the year.  The researchers recorded 6077 publicly reported data breaches last year, which included sensitive information such as names, social security numbers, and financial data.  Over 70% of these incidents resulted from unauthorized access that stemmed from outside the affected organization.  The researchers also saw a 429% spike in stolen or leaked personal data in the first two months of 2024 compared with the same period last year. The researchers noted that the US comprised the majority (60%) of global data breaches in 2023, with 3804 reported incidents.  This represents a 19.8% increase compared to 2022.  The researchers noted that ransomware attacks are a major culprit for this surge in data breaches, which saw an 84% increase in documented incidents in 2023.  Additionally, the number of public ransomware attacks grew by around 23% in the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 637.

Infosecurity Magazine reports: "17 Billion Personal Records Exposed in Data Breaches in 2023"