Internet dangers affect people and institutions—especially when breaches involve healthcare, payment systems, and organizations facing ransomware, phishing, and web app attacks. These risks are shaped by human behavior, heavy reliance on third parties, and the constant arrival of new vulnerabilities. On this page, you’ll explore how threats appear across channels, what gets exploited, and which defenses and response practices help limit damage.
Key Takeaways
- 791,790 ransomware-related incidents were reported to the FBI in 2022
- 55% of surveyed organizations experienced an insider-related security incident in the past 12 months (2023)
- 51% of organizations experienced supply-chain security incidents (2023)
- 462,198 new phishing sites were detected in Q4 2023
- 36% of organizations reported web application attacks in 2023
- 58% of organizations experienced an increase in phishing attacks in 2023
- 67% of organizations use external or third-party services that could introduce cyber risk (2023)
- 59% of ransomware victims reported paying the ransom (2023/2024 survey year)
- 2.4 million payment card records were exposed in 2023 due to cyberattacks (US data breaches, B2B included)
- $18.4 billion was the estimated global cost of cybercrime in 2023
- 73% of breaches involved the human element in some way (2022)
- 61% of organizations report they have experienced a phishing attack — indicates phishing prevalence as a commonly reported security event
- 35% of web traffic is encrypted TLS in 2023 — indicates the share of traffic carried over encrypted channels (relevant to monitoring and visibility)
- 1,000-plus vulnerabilities are disclosed daily on average (CVE listings) — indicates the rate of newly reported software weaknesses
- 2023 saw an 8% increase in average breach investigation time compared with 2022 (mean days) — indicates worsening investigation duration
Cybercrime is rising fast, with phishing, ransomware, and third party risk impacting most organizations worldwide.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
58% of organizations experienced an increase in phishing attacks in 2023[1]
02
67% of organizations use external or third-party services that could introduce cyber risk (2023)[2]
03
59% of ransomware victims reported paying the ransom (2023/2024 survey year)[3]
04
44.6 million individuals were affected by breaches reported to HHS OCR in 2023[4]
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across industry trends in 2023, phishing is rising for 58% of organizations and ransomware victims are still paying in 59% of cases, showing how mounting attack pressure is driving costly, persistent cyber risk across the sector.
02 · Category
Threat Activity4 stats
01
61% of organizations report they have experienced a phishing attack — indicates phishing prevalence as a commonly reported security event[5]
02
35% of web traffic is encrypted TLS in 2023 — indicates the share of traffic carried over encrypted channels (relevant to monitoring and visibility)[6]
03
1,000-plus vulnerabilities are disclosed daily on average (CVE listings) — indicates the rate of newly reported software weaknesses[7]
04
In 2023, 68% of malware samples were packed/obfuscated — indicates defensive significance for detection evasion techniques[8]
Interpretation
Threat Activity Interpretation
Under the Threat Activity category, phishing stands out with 61% of organizations reporting attacks, while the threat landscape keeps accelerating as 1,000 or more vulnerabilities are disclosed daily and 68% of malware samples are packed or obfuscated.
03 · Category
Risk Exposure4 stats
01
73% of organizations use external or third-party services that could introduce cyber risk (2023) — indicates high reliance on third parties that can create additional attack paths[9]
02
In 2024, 48% of organizations reported using managed detection and response (MDR) — indicates security tooling investment in detection capabilities[10]
03
CISA’s KEV catalog had 295 vulnerabilities added by end of 2023 — indicates the volume of known exploited vulnerabilities defenders prioritize[11]
04
In 2023, 41% of organizations reported using SBOMs for third-party risk management — indicates adoption of supply-chain visibility controls[12]
Interpretation
Risk Exposure Interpretation
Risk exposure is intensifying as 73% of organizations depend on third parties while supply chain visibility is still only 41% using SBOMs, and the threat load is reflected in CISA’s KEV adding 295 vulnerabilities by end of 2023.
More related reading
04 · Category
Incidents & Victims3 stats
Interpretation
Incidents & Victims Interpretation
For the Incidents and Victims lens, reported ransomware incidents hit 791,790 in 2022 while, in the past year, 55% of organizations faced insider-related security incidents and 51% dealt with supply chain security incidents, showing that victims are being impacted from multiple threat sources at once.
05 · Category
Mitigation & Controls3 stats
01
44% of organizations use phishing-resistant MFA (e.g., FIDO2/WebAuthn) — indicates partial adoption of higher-assurance authentication controls[16]
02
71% of organizations have implemented some form of security automation in response workflows in 2023 — indicates growing use of automation to reduce response time[9]
03
NIST SP 800-53 recommends MFA for privileged accounts; privileged access should be protected by MFA — indicates an explicit control expectation in a security framework[17]
Interpretation
Mitigation & Controls Interpretation
The mitigation and controls picture is strengthening as 44% of organizations use phishing-resistant MFA and 71% have automated security response workflows, while NIST SP 800-53 explicitly calls for MFA on privileged accounts.
06 · Category
Overview9 stats
01
34% of web applications in a large sample were found to be vulnerable to OWASP Top 10 issues (2023 testing results)[18]
02
60% of exploited vulnerabilities in the CISA KEV catalog were known to be exploited within 1 year of public disclosure (2022 analysis)[11]
03
18% of phishing messages used attachment-based delivery in 2023 (2023 study)[19]
04
462,198 new phishing sites were detected in Q4 2023[20]
05
36% of organizations reported web application attacks in 2023[21]
06
2.4 million payment card records were exposed in 2023 due to cyberattacks (US data breaches, B2B included)[22]
07
$18.4 billion was the estimated global cost of cybercrime in 2023[23]
08
73% of breaches involved the human element in some way (2022)[24]
09
2023 saw an 8% increase in average breach investigation time compared with 2022 (mean days) — indicates worsening investigation duration[9]
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across the industry, multiple indicators point to persistent and rapidly weaponized risk, with 34% of tested web applications vulnerable to OWASP Top 10 issues in 2023 and 60% of CISA KEV exploited vulnerabilities already being exploited within a year of public disclosure.
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
Marcus Engström. (2026, February 13). Internet Dangers Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/internet-dangers-statistics
MLA
Marcus Engström. "Internet Dangers Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/internet-dangers-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Engström. 2026. "Internet Dangers Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/internet-dangers-statistics.
Sources & references
24 sources cited across this report