New Report Reveals the Vast Impact of Data Compromises—and Why Businesses Must Stay Vigilant

With more and more people being affected by cyberattacks, breach response planning is critical

The latest Data Breach Analysis report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reveals that, while the frequency of data compromise incidents among U.S. organizations is down slightly from the record-setting pace of 2021, the impact of breaches is still vast when it comes to the number of entities and individuals affected. Among the highlights of the Q3 2022 report:

More than 105 million individuals were affected by data compromises in Q3, a staggering increase of 210% over the previous quarter.

Two major Q3 incidents alone—23 million people affected by an AT&T breach and 69 million affected by a Neopets breach—show the devastating scale of impact that data compromises can have.

In terms of the number of data compromise incidents reported, Q3 2022 saw a 15% increase compared to Q2.

Cyberattacks accounted for 88% of all data breaches during the quarter, with phishing attacks continuing to be the largest threat. Supply chain attacks in particular saw an astonishing increase: up 250% over the first half of the year, affecting more than 1,280 entities.

Of the more than 400 cyberattacks reported in Q3, 47% produced data breach notices with no specific attack vector listed as the root cause.

This rate of “no information” breach notices is a troubling trend that has been on the rise for four consecutive quarters. When vital information about cyberattacks is withheld from data breach notices, it places the larger community of businesses and individuals at greater risk.

How to Mitigate These Significant Breach Risks

Together with the 2022 Verizon Business Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which reveals that ransomware and phishing attacks are on the rise; and the IBM 2022 Cost of Data Breach report, which calculates that the average breach impact on a business is $4.35 million, the ITRC report demonstrates that data compromise risks are real and growing.

Organizational cybersecurity in this uncertain environment requires the development of a comprehensive incident-response plan. It is particularly important to proactively establish a relationship with an experienced incident-response partner. IDX is an expert in breach recovery, and offers a Priority Response No Cost Master Services Agreement (MSA) in which the only costs your organization incurs come after a breach incident happens. The agreement includes access to preferred pricing, rapid breach response, and annual breach response planning.

With more than 100 million people affected by cyberattacks in this past quarter alone, your organization can’t afford not to develop a proactive response plan as part of your breach mitigation practices. The time to do so is now, before the damage is done.