Accounts compromised in data breaches spike

Data breaches last year impacted more than 5.5 billion accounts, which was eight times higher than the total number of compromised accounts in 2023, Cybernews reports.

Most of the increase was fueled by a breach involving more than three billion email addresses from older breaches, which were primarily from Russia, the U.S., and China, according to Surfshark. Global B2B data aggregation firm DemandScience — which had data from over 120 million individuals, most of whom are in the U.S., compromised in a February attack — was also a key contributor to the surge in breached accounts. Additional findings revealed that China, Russia, and the U.S. accounted for nearly half of all breached accounts last year, while Europe, particularly Russia and France, had the highest data breach density. "In 2023, the US and Russia dominated the data breach landscape, comprising nearly 80% of all breached accounts. However, by 2024, China also emerged as a key player in global data breaches," said Surfshark.