More than eight thousand vulnerabilities sit in the CISA known exploited catalog. Eighty percent of organizations encountered ransomware while fifty seven percent faced phishing. Credential misuse and patching shortfalls appear across multiple incident reports.
Key Takeaways
- 61% of organizations paid a ransom to resolve a ransomware incident (2023 survey results)
- 2023: 73% of breaches were confirmed (not just suspected) by forensic investigation (IBM report benchmarked)
- As of 2025-04, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog included 8,000+ vulnerabilities
- 2023: 40% of organizations reported that they are not patching within SLA (vulnerability management survey)
- The FBI reported that Business Email Compromise (BEC) caused $2.7 billion in losses from 2016 through 2021
- In 2023, the FBI IC3 reported 29,000+ ransomware incidents (IC3 2023 report)
- Over 1,000,000 phishing emails are blocked per day by some large providers (Google Safe Browsing statistics reported in 2023)
- Phishing-resistant MFA can block 99.9% of account takeover attacks (CISA / NIST cited effectiveness)
- CISA’s Binding Operational Directive 22-01 required MFA for remote access; by 2022 Q4, 99% compliance for federal agencies (CISA reporting)
- ISC2 estimated a global cybersecurity workforce shortage of 4.1 million in 2023
- 80% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack in 2023
- 57% of organizations reported being victims of phishing attacks in 2023
- Breach notification data showed 36,000+ publicly disclosed breaches worldwide in 2023
- Fileless malware was detected in 26% of enterprise incidents in 2023
- Polymorphic malware represented 22% of malware samples analyzed in 2023
Ransomware, phishing, and credential misuse drive breaches, yet stronger patching, MFA, and incident readiness can cut risk fast.
Related reading
01 · Category
Ransomware Prevalence1 stats
01
61% of organizations paid a ransom to resolve a ransomware incident (2023 survey results)
Interpretation
Ransomware Prevalence Interpretation
Under the Ransomware Prevalence category, the 2023 survey shows that 61% of organizations chose to pay a ransom to get past a ransomware incident, underscoring how commonly such attacks force real-world payment decisions.
02 · Category
Data Breach Impacts1 stats
01
2023: 73% of breaches were confirmed (not just suspected) by forensic investigation (IBM report benchmarked)
Interpretation
Data Breach Impacts Interpretation
In the context of Data Breach Impacts, IBM’s benchmark shows that in 2023 a full 73% of breaches were confirmed by forensic investigation rather than remaining mere suspicions, underscoring how often breaches produce verifiable, real-world impact.
03 · Category
Vulnerability Dynamics2 stats
01
As of 2025-04, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog included 8,000+ vulnerabilities
02
2023: 40% of organizations reported that they are not patching within SLA (vulnerability management survey)
Interpretation
Vulnerability Dynamics Interpretation
With CISA’s KEV Catalog surpassing 8,000 vulnerabilities by April 2025 and 40% of organizations in 2023 still not patching within SLA, the vulnerability dynamics trend shows that exploited opportunity is expanding faster than organizations are reliably closing the patching gap.
04 · Category
Attack Tactics And Trends3 stats
01
The FBI reported that Business Email Compromise (BEC) caused $2.7 billion in losses from 2016 through 2021
02
In 2023, the FBI IC3 reported 29,000+ ransomware incidents (IC3 2023 report)
03
Over 1,000,000 phishing emails are blocked per day by some large providers (Google Safe Browsing statistics reported in 2023)
Interpretation
Attack Tactics And Trends Interpretation
Attack Tactics and Trends show that financially driven social engineering is escalating, with BEC losses reaching $2.7 billion from 2016 to 2021, ransomware swelling to over 29,000 incidents in 2023, and large providers blocking more than 1,000,000 phishing emails each day.
05 · Category
Cybersecurity Operations4 stats
01
Phishing-resistant MFA can block 99.9% of account takeover attacks (CISA / NIST cited effectiveness)
02
CISA’s Binding Operational Directive 22-01 required MFA for remote access; by 2022 Q4, 99% compliance for federal agencies (CISA reporting)
03
ISC2 estimated a global cybersecurity workforce shortage of 4.1 million in 2023
04
In the 2024 Verizon DBIR, 32% of breaches involved credential misuse
Interpretation
Cybersecurity Operations Interpretation
For cybersecurity operations, the data shows that strong identity controls are becoming the front line, with phishing resistant MFA stopping 99.9% of account takeover attacks and 99% of federal agencies meeting CISA’s 22-01 remote access MFA by 2022 Q4, while breaches still frequently hinge on credential misuse at 32% in the 2024 Verizon DBIR.
More related reading
06 · Category
Attack Prevalence2 stats
01
80% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack in 2023
02
57% of organizations reported being victims of phishing attacks in 2023
Interpretation
Attack Prevalence Interpretation
Under the Attack Prevalence angle, ransomware was widespread with 80% of organizations hit in 2023 and phishing followed closely at 57%, showing that both attacks are reaching more organizations than ever.
07 · Category
Incident Costs1 stats
01
Breach notification data showed 36,000+ publicly disclosed breaches worldwide in 2023
Interpretation
Incident Costs Interpretation
In 2023, breach notification data reported 36,000+ publicly disclosed breaches worldwide, underscoring how frequent incident occurrences translate into escalating incident costs for organizations globally.
08 · Category
Ransomware & Malware3 stats
01
Fileless malware was detected in 26% of enterprise incidents in 2023
02
Polymorphic malware represented 22% of malware samples analyzed in 2023
03
Credentials-related attacks were a key malware delivery vector in 2023 according to threat hunting results: 38%
Interpretation
Ransomware & Malware Interpretation
In Ransomware and Malware incidents, 2023 data shows attackers increasingly rely on advanced techniques like fileless malware at 26% of enterprise cases and polymorphic malware making up 22% of samples, with credentials-related attacks driving 38% of malware delivery routes.
09 · Category
Detection & Response1 stats
01
82% of organizations reported that they tested their incident response plan within the last 12 months in 2024
Interpretation
Detection & Response Interpretation
In 2024, 82% of organizations tested their incident response plans within the last 12 months, showing strong momentum in Detection and Response readiness.
10 · Category
Threat Actors & Vectors6 stats
01
Supply-chain compromise attempts targeting software updates were reported in 5% of incidents in 2024
02
Credential-based attacks were responsible for 24% of intrusions in 2024
03
Remote services (e.g., VPN/remote desktop) were used as an access vector in 28% of intrusions in 2023
04
Exploit kits accounted for 9% of malware delivery paths in 2023
05
Publicly exposed application vulnerabilities were present in 30% of assessed environments in 2024
06
DDoS attacks were used as a distraction in 10% of incidents in 2024
Interpretation
Threat Actors & Vectors Interpretation
Across the Threat Actors & Vectors landscape, the dominant pattern is that intrusions increasingly hinge on common, exploitable entry points with remote services at 28% in 2023 and publicly exposed application vulnerabilities showing up in 30% of environments in 2024, while credential-based attacks drive 24% of intrusions in 2024.
report visual · Key figures
Ransomware, phishing, and breach confirmation—what’s most prevalent
Organizations frequently report ransomware and phishing incidents, while most breaches are confirmed through forensic investigation.
80%
80% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack in 2023
61%
61% of organizations paid a ransom to resolve a ransomware incident (2023 survey results)
57%
57% of organizations reported being victims of phishing attacks in 2023
73%
2023: 73% of breaches were confirmed (not just suspected) by forensic investigation (IBM report benchmarked)
36,000
Breach notification data showed 36,000+ publicly disclosed breaches worldwide in 2023
source-verifiedsonicwall.com · veeam.com · proofpoint.com · ibm.com · privacyrights.org2023
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). Cyber Security Attacks Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cyber-security-attacks-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "Cyber Security Attacks Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cyber-security-attacks-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "Cyber Security Attacks Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cyber-security-attacks-statistics.
Sources & references
24 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
akamai.com+3 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)