Verizon's 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report is an indispensable resource, offering in-depth analyses of real-world cyber attacks to assist organizations in understanding and mitigating any future risks. Here are some key takeaways from this year's report:
Attackers employ various means to gain entry to organizations. One such tactic used by attackers to gain entry is stealing credentials; that is why the DBIR emphasizes raising cyber security protocols and improving human risk management practices.
Stolen Credentials
Stolen credentials continue to be one of the most reliable means for cyber criminals to break into organizations, making them one of the primary attack vectors identified in Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR).
According to DBIR, stolen credentials were present in over half of all breaches and often used as the starting point of enterprise penetration attempts such as phishing attacks, basic web application attacks and system intrusions. Furthermore, exploit vulnerability exploitation of stolen credentials was an integral component of many breach attempts.
Stolen credentials are so popular with attackers because they allow them to bypass the technical aspects of an attack, providing quick and efficient means of gaining unwarranted access.
Retail is particularly vulnerable, according to DBIR research. PoS attacks and web application intrusions in retail are extremely prevalent - 98% of breaches involving payment card data! But retailers can reduce the risk by fortifying their firewalls, installing multifactor authentication (MFA) on critical systems and conducting regular phishing simulations and employee training exercises.
With stolen credentials in hand, attackers can then sell them on the dark web or use them against a target company. Genesis Market recently saw massive datasets sold as digital fingerprints at low costs compared to what the potential payoff of ransomware or business email compromise (BEC) attacks could be.
Human error, privilege abuse or social engineering attacks such as pretexting are central components in 74% of breaches this year.
DBIR reports emphasize the significance of strengthening cybersecurity controls through implementation and enforcement of CIS Controls. These security best practices help lower risks related to breach, loss of data or any other negative repercussions.
CIS is honored to partner with Verizon in developing and publishing the Digital Breakpoint Intelligence Report, or DBIR, a comprehensive source of intelligence on real-world threats that helps individuals and businesses stay safe.
Ransomware
Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) contains alarming statistics, such as an alarming increase in ransomware incidents and an average attack timeline that has shrunk significantly to just four days. According to this year's DBIR, ransomware costs have more than doubled while humans were involved in three out of every four breaches.
Verizon points out that while ransomware's share of action type increased, it remains one of the fastest growing cyberattack types. While this increase may be attributable to threat actors adjusting their tactics in response to more effective defense technologies becoming available, attacks are in reality becoming more aggressive and complex.
Ransomware attacks typically involve criminals encrypting data to restrict access, then demanding payment in exchange for decryption keys. According to law enforcement experts, organizations should avoid paying ransoms in an effort to regain control over their data.
Recent ransomware attacks by Lapsus$ have made headlines, targeting Okta, Nvidia, T-Mobile and Microsoft. Their attackers employed social engineering, stolen credentials and lateral movement tactics to breach targets; some even threatened public release of compromised data if their demands weren't met.
Ransomware infiltration into an organization can have severe repercussions, impacting business operations, customer loyalty and brand reputation. A quick response must be implemented to contain and limit losses; this requires isolating systems from their networks by disconnecting or powering down before prioritizing restoration based on productivity or revenue impact.
Organizations seeking to minimize risk should adopt an integrative approach to cybersecurity by investing both technological and human assets to counter threats. According to Verizon DBIR recommendations, organizations should put into effect strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, phishing awareness training and creating an incident response plan as measures against threats. Vade for M365 integrates all these components together into an innovative cybersecurity solution which safeguards organizations both on a human as well as technical level.
System Intrusions
In addition to stolen credentials and ransomware, the 2023 DBIR report also revealed system intrusions as one of the primary attack patterns, for the second year running. System intrusions were most commonly leveraged against Accommodation and Food Services industries but also made waves against Education providers as well as Finance and Insurance firms. System intrusion attacks commonly involved hacking techniques involving vulnerability exploitation or phishing attempts which required additional work from threat actors; yet were very effective and lucrative strategies.
Notable findings included an increase in incidents involving social engineering, which was the most frequent trend across all of Verizon's incident categories. This trend can primarily be attributed to cybercriminals' increasing focus on business email compromise (BEC) attacks as hackers focus on this strategy more frequently than ever. As a result, organizations should adopt comprehensive cybersecurity solutions with multi-factor authentication and strong password policies for their own protection.
Overall, the report highlighted that the threat landscape is ever-evolving and cybersecurity teams must be ready to detect and respond swiftly to emerging threats. Implementation of best practices such as MFA or strong password policies are also encouraged; penetration testing provides another method of discovering any weaknesses within security infrastructure that require immediate remediation measures.
Verizon's 16th Annual Data Breach Incident Report (DBIR) analyzes thousands of real security incidents and breaches to reveal trends, patterns, and recommended actions to strengthen defenses. It serves as an industry benchmark and offers organizations invaluable insight into the threat landscape.
Verizon provides its DBIR for free from their website and also offers other resources to assist organizations with improving their cybersecurity, such as webinars on common threats and how to mitigate them, and an assessment tool which measures your organization's abilities against these risks.
Social Engineering
Human error lies at the core of most cybersecurity incidents and breaches, and 74% of all breaches involve people, according to Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR). This figure represents an increase from last year when social engineering attacks comprised 53% of all security incidents.
BEC (Base Error Correction) and other pretexting attacks were the top security trend this year, almost tripling in frequency. These scams typically involve hackers posing as trusted executives or coworkers who need sensitive data in order to complete an important task; such attacks serve as an impersonation technique and can often prove effective for cybercriminals who can quickly convince unsuspecting victims that something important needs doing quickly.
These attacks may come in various forms, from email and phone scams to targeted social engineering attacks using public information sources like LinkedIn. Attackers use publicly available information about a target's job title, company and other details to craft requests that seem legitimate; open source intelligence tools may even help them discover online interests of their targets for greater authenticity when building scams.
Social engineering attacks frequently utilize quid pro quo techniques. Here, hackers attempt to lure victims with promises of something valuable in exchange for their information or assistance - for instance tech support may be offered as payment in return for providing passwords or other sensitive data. Alternately, "honey trap" websites or apps may lure the target into providing personal details or even installing malware onto their device that collects sensitive data such as location details or execute commands remotely.
Financial sector attackers tend to be particularly aggressive. They frequently employ phishing and social engineering techniques, while taking advantage of any vulnerabilities within a system by exploiting weak patches or configuration errors. Physical social engineering tactics like USB baiting may also be employed; attackers could pose as maintenance workers, construction workers or similar roles to gain entry to restricted areas.
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