On this episode of The Cybersecurity Defenders Podcast we take a close look at the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report.

The Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) provides a comprehensive analysis of the current cybersecurity landscape, highlighting significant trends and emerging threats. This year's report, the 17th edition, examines 30,458 security incidents and 10,626 confirmed breaches, marking a two-fold increase from the previous year. A key finding is the dramatic surge in vulnerability exploitation, which nearly tripled, driven by attacks on unpatched systems and zero-day vulnerabilities. Ransomware and extortion continue to be major threats, comprising 32% of breaches, with a notable rise in pure extortion attacks where data is stolen but not encrypted​​.

The report also emphasizes the human element in cybersecurity breaches, with human errors contributing to 68% of incidents. Phishing remains a critical issue, with median times to click on malicious links and submit data being alarmingly short. Despite this, there is an encouraging increase in phishing awareness among users. Additionally, the report underscores the growing complexity of supply chain attacks, highlighting the vulnerabilities in third-party code and services. Interestingly, the impact of generative AI in cyberattacks remains minimal, with most uses being experimental rather than operational. The DBIR concludes with a call for improved vulnerability management and continued focus on human-centric security measures​.

You can download the full report here.