36 Billion Personal Records Exposed By Hacks In 2020 So Far

By   ISBuzz Team
Writer , Information Security Buzz | Oct 29, 2020 11:48 pm PST

The number of records exposed in data breaches and leaks has surged to 36 billion so far this year, representing almost 3,000 separate incidents, further extending 2020s status as the worst year on record, according to IT Pro. While organisations sustained an onslaught throughout the first half of 2020, the last 3 months to date extra an added 8.3 billion records to the tally, with the 36 billion whole representing twice the number of documents leaked throughout 2019. Two breaches alone exposed over a billion records each, while four breaches exposed over 100 million records together, accounting for 22.3% of Q3 records exposed, according to research by Risk Based Security. The largest incident of Q3 is attributed to an open Elasticsearch server, which exposed six billion records, though the 6.4TB of data included multiple interactions with the same client, meaning roughly 700,000 individuals were affected.

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Jake Moore
Jake Moore , Global Cyber Security Advisor
October 30, 2020 7:49 am

People have increasingly – and dangerously – become more complacent in their awareness of cyberattacks and scams. With more people than ever relying solely on their own security knowledge while working from home, it is unsurprising to see data breaches and hackings skyrocket, especially when this is coupled with companies choosing to prioritise other areas of business. As attention focuses on making sure businesses can survive the economic downturn of COVID-19, there is less emphasis on education and cybersecurity awareness.

Human error remains a key entry point for threat actors. We need to constantly teach individuals and businesses about the potential pitfalls people may fall into that can cause major damage. Companies are struggling with a new wave of ransomware, which is often coupled with a threat to reveal information if demands are not met. Unfortunately, malicious actors seem increasingly unafraid of following through, leaving organisations in a dangerous position.

Last edited 3 years ago by Jake Moore

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