2024 Cyber Breaches Reach New Levels: 5 Billion Accounts Compromised

In 2024, the global scale of cybercrime reached new heights, with a staggering 5 billion accounts breached, according to a report from cybersecurity firm Surfshark. This marks a significant increase from 730 million accounts in 2023, equating to roughly 180 accounts being compromised every second. The report highlights that a single attack was responsible for the majority of the breaches, collecting about three billion email addresses.

Countries Most Affected by Data Breaches

The report reveals that most of the compromised accounts were concentrated in just a few countries, with Russia topping the list with 790 million breached accounts. The United States followed with 310 million, while China had 160 million accounts compromised. Other countries impacted by these breaches include Germany (110 million) and France (100 million).

This surge in breaches provides ample opportunity for cybercriminals and scammers to target victims, potentially leading to identity theft, financial fraud, and other malicious activities. However, one hacker claimed that the compromised data was not obtained through private leaks, but rather sourced from publicly available information.

Major Breaches in 2024

In February 2024, a significant breach occurred at DemandScience, a B2B demand generation company. The attack affected 120 million individuals, with 33 million of the compromised accounts from the United States, 2.4 million from the UK, and 1.4 million from Canada. This data was crucial for DemandScience’s targeted marketing campaigns, allowing them to access consumer profiles to better tailor their strategies.

Geographical Breakdown of Breaches

Russia, China, and the United States together accounted for 46% of the total breaches in 2024. China saw a dramatic rise, moving from 12th place in 2023 to the top spot in 2024. In contrast, Russia and the United States dominated the 2023 data breach landscape, making up 80% of the breaches that year. In 2024, breaches from Russia and China escalated, with approximately 1,700 and 1,800 accounts being breached every minute, respectively. The United States experienced about 1,300 breaches per minute.

Breach Density by Country

When examining breach density, Russia led with 6,400 accounts breached per 1,000 people. France followed in second place, with 2,300 accounts breached per 1,000 people. The report also revealed that 70% of people in Europe had experienced a data breach more than once, with Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands also ranking high in breach frequency.

Conclusion

The sharp rise in data breaches in 2024 underscores the growing threat of cybercrime and its far-reaching impact. As cybercriminals become more adept at exploiting publicly available information, individuals and organizations alike must remain vigilant in protecting their sensitive data.