GITNUXREPORT 2026

Security Statistics

Rising cyberattacks and costs demand stronger security measures globally in 2023.

Alexander Schmidt

Research Analyst specializing in technology and digital transformation trends.

First published: Feb 13, 2026

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Statistic 1

In 2023, ransomware attacks increased by 73% year-over-year, affecting over 66% of organizations worldwide.

Statistic 2

Phishing attacks accounted for 36% of all data breaches in 2023 according to the Verizon DBIR.

Statistic 3

DDoS attacks surged by 200% in the financial sector during Q4 2023.

Statistic 4

Malware detections rose to 5.5 billion in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022.

Statistic 5

Supply chain attacks grew by 42% in 2023, impacting 60% of enterprises.

Statistic 6

Zero-day exploits were used in 25% of advanced persistent threats in 2023.

Statistic 7

Cryptojacking incidents increased by 89% in cloud environments in 2023.

Statistic 8

Nation-state actors conducted 30% more espionage campaigns in 2023.

Statistic 9

Mobile malware samples reached 12.7 million in 2023, up 12%.

Statistic 10

Fileless malware attacks doubled to 77% of detections in enterprises in 2023.

Statistic 11

Insider threat incidents rose by 44% due to cyber threats in 2023.

Statistic 12

AI-powered attacks grew by 150% targeting generative AI tools in 2023.

Statistic 13

Healthcare sector saw 248% increase in cyber threats in 2023.

Statistic 14

Cloud misconfigurations led to 88% of breaches involving cyber threats in 2023.

Statistic 15

BEC scams caused $2.9 billion in losses from cyber threats in 2023.

Statistic 16

Vulnerability exploits in cyber threats hit 25,000 CVEs published in 2023.

Statistic 17

OT/ICS cyber threats increased by 50% in manufacturing in 2023.

Statistic 18

Deepfake-related cyber threats rose 550% in 2023.

Statistic 19

Retail sector faced 300 million cyber threat attempts monthly in 2023.

Statistic 20

In 2023, ransomware attacks increased by 73% year-over-year, affecting over 66% of organizations worldwide.

Statistic 21

Phishing attacks accounted for 36% of all data breaches in 2023 according to the Verizon DBIR.

Statistic 22

DDoS attacks surged by 200% in the financial sector during Q4 2023.

Statistic 23

Malware detections rose to 5.5 billion in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022.

Statistic 24

The average time to identify a cyber threat was 204 days in 2023.

Statistic 25

82% of data breaches involved human elements like errors in 2023.

Statistic 26

Mega breaches (over 1 million records) accounted for 60% of data exposed in 2023.

Statistic 27

Stolen credentials were used in 49% of data breaches in 2023.

Statistic 28

Average data breach cost $4.45 million globally in 2023.

Statistic 29

Healthcare data breaches averaged $10.93 million in cost in 2023.

Statistic 30

3,205 data breaches confirmed in the US in 2023 by HHS.

Statistic 31

MOVEit breaches exposed 62 million records in 2023.

Statistic 32

83% of data breaches involved cloud-stored data in 2023.

Statistic 33

Ransomware caused 20% of data breaches with encryption in 2023.

Statistic 34

Public sector data breaches cost $2.74 million on average in 2023.

Statistic 35

74% of data breaches were due to external actors in 2023.

Statistic 36

Data breach notifications hit 3,200 in EU under GDPR in Q4 2023.

Statistic 37

Financial services breaches averaged 277 days to identify in 2023.

Statistic 38

39% of data breaches involved phishing as initial vector in 2023.

Statistic 39

Over 8 billion records exposed in breaches worldwide in 2023.

Statistic 40

Insider-caused data breaches were 19% of total in 2023.

Statistic 41

Energy sector saw 30% rise in data breaches in 2023.

Statistic 42

51% of data breaches were ransomware-related in 2023 surveys.

Statistic 43

Cyber cost to global economy $8 trillion in 2023.

Statistic 44

US cybercrime losses $12.5 billion reported in 2023.

Statistic 45

Ransomware payments averaged $1.54 million per victim 2023.

Statistic 46

Data breach fines under GDPR totaled €2.7 billion by 2023.

Statistic 47

Downtime from breaches cost $9,440 per minute in 2023.

Statistic 48

Insurance premiums for cyber rose 50% average in 2023.

Statistic 49

Productivity loss from cyber incidents 25% of total cost.

Statistic 50

BEC fraud losses $2.9 billion in US alone 2023.

Statistic 51

Notification costs averaged $0.36 per record in breaches.

Statistic 52

Cyber extortion demands averaged $1 million in 2023.

Statistic 53

Lost revenue from breaches 31% of total costs 2023.

Statistic 54

Detection/response costs $1.82 million avg per breach.

Statistic 55

Post-breach turnover of customers 10.2% average.

Statistic 56

Cyber market projected to $500 billion by 2030 from 2023 base.

Statistic 57

92% of organizations adopted MFA as a security measure in 2023.

Statistic 58

EDR adoption reached 68% in enterprises for security measures in 2023.

Statistic 59

Zero-trust architecture implemented by 81% of large firms in 2023.

Statistic 60

SIEM tools used by 75% of organizations as core security measure.

Statistic 61

65% increased security training budgets as a measure in 2023.

Statistic 62

Cloud security posture management adopted by 55% in 2023.

Statistic 63

78% of firms use AI/ML for threat detection measures in 2023.

Statistic 64

Vulnerability management automated in 62% of enterprises in 2023.

Statistic 65

89% prioritize patch management as key security measure.

Statistic 66

Behavioral analytics deployed by 70% for insider threats in 2023.

Statistic 67

76% use encryption for data at rest as standard measure.

Statistic 68

Incident response plans tested quarterly by 64% in 2023.

Statistic 69

82% implemented privileged access management (PAM).

Statistic 70

Security orchestration automation used by 58% in 2023.

Statistic 71

71% conduct regular penetration testing as measure.

Statistic 72

DNS security solutions adopted by 67% of firms in 2023.

Statistic 73

85% of CISOs increased SOC staffing as security measure.

Statistic 74

Over 26,000 new vulnerabilities disclosed in 2023.

Statistic 75

23% of vulnerabilities were high or critical severity in 2023.

Statistic 76

Log4j vulnerability exploited in 15% of attacks post-2021.

Statistic 77

Unpatched vulnerabilities caused 60% of breaches in 2023.

Statistic 78

5,000+ CVEs in web applications alone in 2023.

Statistic 79

Windows vulnerabilities averaged 800 per year in 2023.

Statistic 80

42% of vulnerabilities had public exploits available in 2023.

Statistic 81

IoT vulnerabilities hit 1,200 new in 2023.

Statistic 82

Cloud provider vulnerabilities exploited in 22% cases in 2023.

Statistic 83

Mean time to patch critical vulns was 18 days in 2023.

Statistic 84

35% of orgs had unpatched vulns over 90 days old.

Statistic 85

Mobile app vulns totaled 4,500 in 2023.

Statistic 86

Supply chain vulns like SolarWinds affected 18,000 orgs.

Statistic 87

28% increase in zero-day vulns discovered in 2023.

Statistic 88

OT vulns rose 30% to 900 in ICS environments 2023.

Statistic 89

Browser extension vulns exploited in 12% attacks.

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Sources

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The digital landscape of 2023 wasn't just risky—it was a full-scale cyber siege, with ransomware crippling two-thirds of organizations, phishing fueling over a third of all data breaches, and financial firms weathering a 200% surge in DDoS attacks while malware detections soared to a staggering 5.5 billion.

Key Takeaways

In 2023, ransomware attacks increased by 73% year-over-year, affecting over 66% of organizations worldwide.
Phishing attacks accounted for 36% of all data breaches in 2023 according to the Verizon DBIR.
DDoS attacks surged by 200% in the financial sector during Q4 2023.
The average time to identify a cyber threat was 204 days in 2023.
82% of data breaches involved human elements like errors in 2023.
Mega breaches (over 1 million records) accounted for 60% of data exposed in 2023.
92% of organizations adopted MFA as a security measure in 2023.
EDR adoption reached 68% in enterprises for security measures in 2023.
Zero-trust architecture implemented by 81% of large firms in 2023.
Over 26,000 new vulnerabilities disclosed in 2023.
23% of vulnerabilities were high or critical severity in 2023.
Log4j vulnerability exploited in 15% of attacks post-2021.
Cyber cost to global economy $8 trillion in 2023.
US cybercrime losses $12.5 billion reported in 2023.
Ransomware payments averaged $1.54 million per victim 2023.

Rising cyberattacks and costs demand stronger security measures globally in 2023.

Cyber Threats

In 2023, ransomware attacks increased by 73% year-over-year, affecting over 66% of organizations worldwide.
Phishing attacks accounted for 36% of all data breaches in 2023 according to the Verizon DBIR.
DDoS attacks surged by 200% in the financial sector during Q4 2023.
Malware detections rose to 5.5 billion in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022.
Supply chain attacks grew by 42% in 2023, impacting 60% of enterprises.
Zero-day exploits were used in 25% of advanced persistent threats in 2023.
Cryptojacking incidents increased by 89% in cloud environments in 2023.
Nation-state actors conducted 30% more espionage campaigns in 2023.
Mobile malware samples reached 12.7 million in 2023, up 12%.
Fileless malware attacks doubled to 77% of detections in enterprises in 2023.
Insider threat incidents rose by 44% due to cyber threats in 2023.
AI-powered attacks grew by 150% targeting generative AI tools in 2023.
Healthcare sector saw 248% increase in cyber threats in 2023.
Cloud misconfigurations led to 88% of breaches involving cyber threats in 2023.
BEC scams caused $2.9 billion in losses from cyber threats in 2023.
Vulnerability exploits in cyber threats hit 25,000 CVEs published in 2023.
OT/ICS cyber threats increased by 50% in manufacturing in 2023.
Deepfake-related cyber threats rose 550% in 2023.
Retail sector faced 300 million cyber threat attempts monthly in 2023.
In 2023, ransomware attacks increased by 73% year-over-year, affecting over 66% of organizations worldwide.
Phishing attacks accounted for 36% of all data breaches in 2023 according to the Verizon DBIR.
DDoS attacks surged by 200% in the financial sector during Q4 2023.
Malware detections rose to 5.5 billion in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022.

Cyber Threats Interpretation

The cyber threat landscape in 2023 wasn't so much a battlefield as it was a full-blown convention where ransomware, phishing, and AI-powered attacks all showed up as uninvited guests, proving that no sector is safe and our collective human error remains the favorite party favor.

Data Breaches

The average time to identify a cyber threat was 204 days in 2023.
82% of data breaches involved human elements like errors in 2023.
Mega breaches (over 1 million records) accounted for 60% of data exposed in 2023.
Stolen credentials were used in 49% of data breaches in 2023.
Average data breach cost $4.45 million globally in 2023.
Healthcare data breaches averaged $10.93 million in cost in 2023.
3,205 data breaches confirmed in the US in 2023 by HHS.
MOVEit breaches exposed 62 million records in 2023.
83% of data breaches involved cloud-stored data in 2023.
Ransomware caused 20% of data breaches with encryption in 2023.
Public sector data breaches cost $2.74 million on average in 2023.
74% of data breaches were due to external actors in 2023.
Data breach notifications hit 3,200 in EU under GDPR in Q4 2023.
Financial services breaches averaged 277 days to identify in 2023.
39% of data breaches involved phishing as initial vector in 2023.
Over 8 billion records exposed in breaches worldwide in 2023.
Insider-caused data breaches were 19% of total in 2023.
Energy sector saw 30% rise in data breaches in 2023.
51% of data breaches were ransomware-related in 2023 surveys.

Data Breaches Interpretation

The grim reality of cybersecurity in 2023 was that it took us an average of 204 days to notice a threat, by which time attackers had already used stolen credentials, phishing, and our own human errors to not only get in but to leisurely plunder our poorly secured cloud data, turning every delay into a multi-million dollar invoice.

Economic Impact

Cyber cost to global economy $8 trillion in 2023.
US cybercrime losses $12.5 billion reported in 2023.
Ransomware payments averaged $1.54 million per victim 2023.
Data breach fines under GDPR totaled €2.7 billion by 2023.
Downtime from breaches cost $9,440 per minute in 2023.
Insurance premiums for cyber rose 50% average in 2023.
Productivity loss from cyber incidents 25% of total cost.
BEC fraud losses $2.9 billion in US alone 2023.
Notification costs averaged $0.36 per record in breaches.
Cyber extortion demands averaged $1 million in 2023.
Lost revenue from breaches 31% of total costs 2023.
Detection/response costs $1.82 million avg per breach.
Post-breach turnover of customers 10.2% average.
Cyber market projected to $500 billion by 2030 from 2023 base.

Economic Impact Interpretation

Even as we complain about inflation, we're collectively paying a global stupidity tax measured in trillions because we still treat cybersecurity like an afterthought rather than the bedrock of modern business.

Security Measures

92% of organizations adopted MFA as a security measure in 2023.
EDR adoption reached 68% in enterprises for security measures in 2023.
Zero-trust architecture implemented by 81% of large firms in 2023.
SIEM tools used by 75% of organizations as core security measure.
65% increased security training budgets as a measure in 2023.
Cloud security posture management adopted by 55% in 2023.
78% of firms use AI/ML for threat detection measures in 2023.
Vulnerability management automated in 62% of enterprises in 2023.
89% prioritize patch management as key security measure.
Behavioral analytics deployed by 70% for insider threats in 2023.
76% use encryption for data at rest as standard measure.
Incident response plans tested quarterly by 64% in 2023.
82% implemented privileged access management (PAM).
Security orchestration automation used by 58% in 2023.
71% conduct regular penetration testing as measure.
DNS security solutions adopted by 67% of firms in 2023.
85% of CISOs increased SOC staffing as security measure.

Security Measures Interpretation

These stats reveal an industry finally taking its vitamins, yet the persistence of gaps—like that 8% without MFA acting as the unlocked back door—shows we're still patching the plane while flying it.

Vulnerabilities

Over 26,000 new vulnerabilities disclosed in 2023.
23% of vulnerabilities were high or critical severity in 2023.
Log4j vulnerability exploited in 15% of attacks post-2021.
Unpatched vulnerabilities caused 60% of breaches in 2023.
5,000+ CVEs in web applications alone in 2023.
Windows vulnerabilities averaged 800 per year in 2023.
42% of vulnerabilities had public exploits available in 2023.
IoT vulnerabilities hit 1,200 new in 2023.
Cloud provider vulnerabilities exploited in 22% cases in 2023.
Mean time to patch critical vulns was 18 days in 2023.
35% of orgs had unpatched vulns over 90 days old.
Mobile app vulns totaled 4,500 in 2023.
Supply chain vulns like SolarWinds affected 18,000 orgs.
28% increase in zero-day vulns discovered in 2023.
OT vulns rose 30% to 900 in ICS environments 2023.
Browser extension vulns exploited in 12% attacks.

Vulnerabilities Interpretation

The sheer volume of new vulnerabilities is staggering, but the real problem is that we’re both slow to patch the ones we know about and alarmingly exposed to the ones being actively exploited.

Sources & References

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