The outlook for cybersecurity in 2023 continues to worsen, with new figures indicating that the number of data breaches around the world nearly tripled between the first and second quarters. In this sense, a new report from Surfshark reflects that they committed 110.8 million accounts worldwide in Q2 2023compared to 41.6 million in the first quarter of the year.
Almost half of the accounts attacked in the second quarter were based in the United States (49.8 million), with Russia in second place with 15.3 million accounts, followed by Spain (3.7 million), France (3.4 million) and Turkey (2.8 million). ). In terms of density, i.e. the number of compromised accounts per 1,000 inhabitants, the same top three nations top the list, but this time followed by Finland and Australia.
America sets the pace
The increase in online insecurity in the United States is perhaps the most alarming, as the numbers increased by a whopping 830% between the first and second quarters, from 5.4 million to 49.8 million. Russia, on the other hand, which was the country with the most compromised accounts in the first quarter with 6.8 million, now only represents less than 14% in the second quarter.
As a whole, North America recorded 51.3 million successful attacks this quarter, with 97% of them coming from the United States. In Europe, cybercriminals managed to gain control of 17.9 million accounts in the first quarter and 28 million in the second quarter. In Oceania, hacked accounts increased by 730% between the two quarters and in South America they increased by 90%.
As for the regions that experienced a decline, both Asia and Africa have been slightly less affected so far this year. “The alarming increase in data breaches highlights that current data protection measures are not enough, and confidential information continues to be at risk as cybercriminals continue to access it in ever greater numbers,” he assured this regard Agneska SablovskajaPrincipal Investigator of Surfshark.
Many other reports continue to substantiate that ransomware attacks have doubled in the last 12 months, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and new tactics adopted by cybercriminals.
