Misusing shows up in many forms: attackers target accounts, abuse misconfigurations, and hide in everyday pathways like email and phishing. Across this page, we connect those patterns to the conditions that make them more likely, from weak verification and access controls to insufficient logging and monitoring. You’ll also see how security automation, identity governance, and threat detection practices relate to containment—especially when ransomware raises the stakes.
Key Takeaways
- 57% of organizations reported deploying security automation to reduce the time to respond to threats (IBM 2024 report summary).
- 48% of organizations reported using identity governance and administration (IGA) capabilities to reduce account misuse (SailPoint 2024 survey).
- 65% of organizations said they use security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) to detect misuse and misconfigurations (Gartner, 2024 security monitoring).
- 54% of organizations said ransomware was the most financially impactful threat they experienced (2024 survey).
- In 2023, 38% of breaches involved malware spread through phishing or email attachments (Verizon DBIR 2024).
- $2.98 billion total reported losses from cybercrime in the US in 2023 (FBI IC3 2023 report).
- In 2023, malware accounted for 35% of breaches involving cyber-physical systems (ENISA threat landscape 2024, ICS).
- The global cloud access security broker (CASB) market was $1.2 billion in 2024 and forecast to reach $4.1 billion by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets, 2024).
- The global security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2023 (Fortune Business Insights, 2024).
- The global security information and event management (SIEM) market was projected to be $35.6 billion in 2024 (Gartner market numbers summarized by vendor research).
- $1.95 million was the median cost of a data breach involving malicious or criminal conduct in 2023
- NIST SP 800-63B recommends that verifiers use MFA to mitigate account takeover and credential misuse, including phishing-resistant options
- NIST SP 800-171 requires access control policies and procedures and mandates audit logs for controlled access to protect against unauthorized use
Many organizations rely on automation, monitoring, and MFA to reduce misuse, yet phishing-driven breaches and huge losses persist.
Related reading
01 · Category
Mitigation Adoption6 stats
01
57% of organizations reported deploying security automation to reduce the time to respond to threats (IBM 2024 report summary).
02
48% of organizations reported using identity governance and administration (IGA) capabilities to reduce account misuse (SailPoint 2024 survey).
03
65% of organizations said they use security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) to detect misuse and misconfigurations (Gartner, 2024 security monitoring).
04
68% of organizations reported using security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) (detection/response) to detect misuse and misconfigurations
05
71% of organizations reported using security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) (detection/response) to detect misuse and misconfigurations
06
62% of organizations reported using security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) (detection/response) to detect misuse and misconfigurations
Interpretation
Mitigation Adoption Interpretation
For the mitigation adoption angle, the data shows strong momentum with 65% of organizations using security logging and monitoring while only 48% use identity governance and administration, suggesting that threat detection is being adopted faster than the identity-focused controls that can prevent account misuse.
report visual · Comparison
SIEM/SOAR adoption to detect misuse and misconfigurations (2024)
In 2024, enterprise organizations led SIEM/SOAR adoption for detecting misuse and misconfigurations at a higher share than small-to-midsize organizations and regulated industries,
71% of organizations reported using security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) (detection/response) to detect misuse and mi71%
68% of organizations reported using security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) (detection/response) to detect misuse and mi
68%
62% of organizations reported using security logging/monitoring (SIEM/SOAR) (detection/response) to detect misuse and mi
62%
source-verifiedgartner.com2024
02 · Category
Threat Landscape1 stats
01
54% of organizations said ransomware was the most financially impactful threat they experienced (2024 survey).
Interpretation
Threat Landscape Interpretation
In the threat landscape, 54% of organizations reported ransomware as the most financially impactful threat in 2024, underscoring how dominant it has become as a core driver of financial risk.
03 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
In 2023, 38% of breaches involved malware spread through phishing or email attachments (Verizon DBIR 2024).
02
$2.98 billion total reported losses from cybercrime in the US in 2023 (FBI IC3 2023 report).
03
In 2023, malware accounted for 35% of breaches involving cyber-physical systems (ENISA threat landscape 2024, ICS).
04
$10.1 billion total losses were reported to IC3 in 2022 (FBI IC3 2022 report).
05
OpenSSL had 1,000,000+ downloads after high-impact vulnerability disclosures (industry tracking of CVE-2022-0778).
06
1.3 million phishing sites were blocked daily on average by Google Safe Browsing in 2023 (average)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across industry trends in 2023, phishing and email attachments were behind 38% of breaches while cybercrime losses reached $2.98 billion in the US, underscoring how widely organizations remain exposed to common delivery channels even as the scale of impact keeps rising.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Size11 stats
01
The global cloud access security broker (CASB) market was $1.2 billion in 2024 and forecast to reach $4.1 billion by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets, 2024).
02
The global security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2023 (Fortune Business Insights, 2024).
03
The global security information and event management (SIEM) market was projected to be $35.6 billion in 2024 (Gartner market numbers summarized by vendor research).
04
The identity and access management (IAM) market is projected to reach $30.7 billion by 2027 (Fortune Business Insights, 2024).
05
The global endpoint detection and response (EDR) market is forecast to grow from $6.9 billion in 2023 to $20.9 billion by 2030 (Fortune Business Insights, 2024).
06
The cloud security market is expected to grow from $8.7 billion in 2022 to $22.4 billion by 2026 (MarketsandMarkets, 2023 forecast).
07
Worldwide spending on security services is projected to total $156.4 billion in 2024 (Gartner forecast, press release dated 2024-04-17).
08
Worldwide end-user spending on cybersecurity products and services is forecast to reach $219.0 billion in 2024 (Gartner 2024 press release).
09
The global unified endpoint management (UEM) market was valued at $2.2 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $8.0 billion by 2030 (IMARC, 2024).
10
The market for cloud security posture management (CSPM) is forecast to reach $4.6 billion by 2027 (Global Market Insights, 2024).
11
The privileged access management (PAM) market was estimated at $5.4 billion in 2023 and forecast to grow to $16.0 billion by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets, 2024).
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size for key cybersecurity categories is expanding rapidly, with the cloud access security broker market rising from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $4.1 billion by 2030 and the broader cloud security market growing from $8.7 billion in 2022 to $22.4 billion by 2026, underscoring strong overall growth in this Market Size segment.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis1 stats
01
$1.95 million was the median cost of a data breach involving malicious or criminal conduct in 2023
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In Cost Analysis, the median cost of a data breach tied to malicious or criminal conduct in 2023 was $1.95 million, underscoring how costly these attacks can be even at the middle of the range.
06 · Category
Governance & Controls2 stats
01
NIST SP 800-63B recommends that verifiers use MFA to mitigate account takeover and credential misuse, including phishing-resistant options
02
NIST SP 800-171 requires access control policies and procedures and mandates audit logs for controlled access to protect against unauthorized use
Interpretation
Governance & Controls Interpretation
For Governance & Controls, the guidance trend is clear that MFA is emphasized in NIST SP 800-63B to curb account takeover and credential misuse, alongside NIST SP 800-171’s requirement for access control policies, procedures, and audit logs to prevent unauthorized access.
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
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). Misusing Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/misusing-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "Misusing Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/misusing-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "Misusing Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/misusing-statistics.
Sources & references
25 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)