Christopher Porter

This year our DBIR includes more incidents, derived from more contributors, and represents a broader and more diverse geographical scope . The number of compromised records across these incidents skyrocketed back up to 174 million after reaching an all-time low (or high, depending on your point of view) in last year’s report of four million . In fact, 2011 boasts the second-highest data loss total since we started keeping track in 2004.

Once again, we are proud to announce that the… Show more

This year our DBIR includes more incidents, derived from more contributors, and represents a broader and more diverse geographical scope . The number of compromised records across these incidents skyrocketed back up to 174 million after reaching an all-time low (or high, depending on your point of view) in last year’s report of four million . In fact, 2011 boasts the second-highest data loss total since we started keeping track in 2004.

Once again, we are proud to announce that the United states secret service (Usss) and the Dutch national High Tech Crime Unit (nHTCU) have joined us for this year’s report . We also welcome the australian federal Police (afP), the Irish Reporting & Information security service (IRIssCeRT), and the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) of the london Metropolitan Police . these organizations have broadened the scope of the DBIr tremendously with regard to data breaches around the globe. We heartily thank them all for their spirit of cooperation, and sincerely hope this report serves to increase awareness of cybercrime, as well as our collective ability to fight it.

With the addition of Verizon’s 2011 caseload and data contributed from the organizations listed above, the DbIR series now spans eight years, well over 2000 breaches, and greater than one billion compromised records . It’s been a fascinating and informative journey, and we are grateful that many of you have chosen to come along for the ride . as always, our goal is that the data and analysis presented in this report prove helpful to the planning and security efforts of our readers . Show less

We are very glad to have the United States Secret Service (USSS) back with us for the 2011 DBIR. Additionally, we have the pleasure of welcoming the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) to the team. Through this cooperative effort, we had the privilege—and challenge—of examining about 800 new data compromise incidents since our last report (with 761 of those for 2010). To put that in perspective, the entire Verizon-USSS dataset from 2004 to 2009 numbered just over 900 breaches. We very… Show more

We are very glad to have the United States Secret Service (USSS) back with us for the 2011 DBIR. Additionally, we have the pleasure of welcoming the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) to the team. Through this cooperative effort, we had the privilege—and challenge—of examining about 800 new data compromise incidents since our last report (with 761 of those for 2010). To put that in perspective, the entire Verizon-USSS dataset from 2004 to 2009 numbered just over 900 breaches. We very nearly doubled the size of our dataset in 2010 alone!

In addition to being the largest caseload ever, it was also extremely diverse in the threat agents, threat actions, affected assets, and security attributes involved. We witnessed highly automated and prolific external attacks, low and slow attacks, intricate internal fraud rings, country-wide device tampering schemes, cunning social engineering plots, and much more. Some of the raw statistics may seem to contradict this claim of diversity (e.g., the percent of breaches attributed to external agents is more lopsided than ever), but one must consider the change in scale. Whereas “10%” used to mean approximately 10-15 breaches across an annual caseload averaging 100-150, it now means 75 breaches in the context of the 2010 caseload. Consider that fact as you digest and ponder results from this year’s report.

With the addition of Verizon’s 2010 caseload and data contributed from the USSS and NHTCU, the DBIR series now spans 7 years, 1700+ breaches, and over 900 million compromised records. We continue to learn a great deal from this ongoing study and we’re glad to have the opportunity once again to share these findings with you. As always, our goal is that the data and analysis presented in this report prove helpful to the planning and security efforts of our readers. Show less

This report analyzes findings from actual Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessments conducted by Verizon’s team of Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs). The report examines the progress of organizations toward the goal of compliance and includes topics such as how and why some seem to struggle more than others. Also presented are statistics around which PCI DSS requirements and sub-requirements are most and least often in place (or compensated for) during the assessment… Show more

This report analyzes findings from actual Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessments conducted by Verizon’s team of Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs). The report examines the progress of organizations toward the goal of compliance and includes topics such as how and why some seem to struggle more than others. Also presented are statistics around which PCI DSS requirements and sub-requirements are most and least often in place (or compensated for) during the assessment process. Finally, the report overlays PCI assessment data with findings from Verizon’s Investigative Response services to provide a unique risk-centric slant on the compliance process. Show less

In some ways, data breaches have a lot in common with fingerprints. Each is unique and we learn a great deal by analyzing the various patterns, lines, and contours that comprise each one. The main value of fingerprints, however, lies in their ability to identify a particular individual in particular circumstances. In this sense, studying them in bulk offers little additional benefit. On the other hand, the analysis of breaches in aggregate can be of great benefit; the more we study, the more… Show more

In some ways, data breaches have a lot in common with fingerprints. Each is unique and we learn a great deal by analyzing the various patterns, lines, and contours that comprise each one. The main value of fingerprints, however, lies in their ability to identify a particular individual in particular circumstances. In this sense, studying them in bulk offers little additional benefit. On the other hand, the analysis of breaches in aggregate can be of great benefit; the more we study, the more prepared we are to stop them.

Not surprisingly, the United States Secret Service (USSS) is also interested in studying and stopping data breaches. This was a driving force in their decision to join us in this 2010 Data Breach Investigations Report. They’ve increased the scope of what we’re able to study dramatically by including a few hundred of their own cases to the mix. Also included are two appendices from the USSS. One delves into online criminal communities and the other focuses on prosecuting cybercrime. We’re grateful for their contributions and believe organizations and individuals around the world will benefit from their efforts.

With the addition of Verizon’s 2009 caseload and data contributed from the USSS, the DBIR series now spans six years, 900+ breaches, and over 900 million compromised records. We’ve learned a great deal from this journey and we’re glad to have the opportunity to share these findings with you. As always, our goal is that the data and analysis presented in this report proves helpful to the planning and security efforts of our readers. Show less

2008 will likely be remembered as a tumultuous year for corporations and consumers alike. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt seized global financial markets; corporate giants toppled with alarming regularity; and many who previously lived in abundance found providing for just the essentials to be difficult. Among the headlines of economic woes came reports of some of the largest data breaches in history. These events served as a reminder that, in addition to our markets, the safety and security of… Show more

2008 will likely be remembered as a tumultuous year for corporations and consumers alike. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt seized global financial markets; corporate giants toppled with alarming regularity; and many who previously lived in abundance found providing for just the essentials to be difficult. Among the headlines of economic woes came reports of some of the largest data breaches in history. These events served as a reminder that, in addition to our markets, the safety and security of our information could not be assumed either.

The 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) covers this chaotic period in history from the viewpoint of our forensic investigators. The 90 confirmed breaches within our 2008 caseload encompass an astounding 285 million compromised records. These records have a compelling story to tell, and the pages of this report are dedicated to relaying it. As with last year, our goal is that the data and analysis presented in this report prove helpful to the planning and security efforts of our readers. Show less