Verizon DBIR 2024

The annual Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report is out, and along with it an accounting of the #cybersecurity compromise and data breach happenings for the past year. As always, it's filled with data analysis and some trending commentary from the previous DBIR report.

The following is a TL;DR summary generated using Fabric by Daniel Miessler as a kind of experiment in how quickly and accurately we can distill a long report into usable information by using an #LLM and a good prompt.

ONE-SENTENCE-SUMMARY:

The 2024 DBIR reveals a significant rise in vulnerability exploitation and ransomware attacks, emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures.

TRENDS:

• Vulnerability exploitation tripled from last year, driven by zero-day vulnerabilities.
• Ransomware and extortion-related breaches accounted for 32% of all breaches.
• Human error remains a significant factor, involved in 68% of breaches.
• Third-party breaches increased by 68%, highlighting supply chain vulnerabilities.
• Errors, particularly misdelivery, are more prevalent than previously believed.
• Financially motivated attacks dominate, with ransomware and extortion leading the charge.
• The median loss from ransomware and extortion attacks was $46,000.
• Phishing remains a critical initial attack vector, with a notable increase in reporting rates.
• The use of stolen credentials and exploitation of vulnerabilities are top methods for system intrusion.
• The MOVEit vulnerability significantly impacted the threat landscape, affecting numerous industries.

STATISTICS:

• 180% increase in attacks involving vulnerability exploitation.
• Ransomware accounts for 23% of breaches, with pure extortion at 9%.
• Human element involved in 68% of breaches.
• 15% of breaches involved third-party vulnerabilities.
• Errors contributed to 28% of breaches.
• Financial motives behind 92% of industries targeted by ransomware.
• Median loss from ransomware/extortion attacks is $46,000.
• 20% of users reported phishing attempts in simulations.
• Median time to click on a phishing email is 21 seconds.
• Exploitation of vulnerabilities as the initial breach action doubled from last year.

QUOTES:

• "Ransomware and extortion-related threats continue to evolve, posing significant risks across industries."
• "The human element remains a critical vulnerability in cybersecurity defenses."
• "Supply chain vulnerabilities are increasingly being exploited by attackers."
• "Misdelivery errors highlight the ongoing challenge of human error in data breaches."
• "Financially motivated attacks dominate the cyber threat landscape."
• "The MOVEit vulnerability has had a profound impact on the cybersecurity threat landscape."
• "Increased reporting rates for phishing attempts indicate growing awareness among users."
• "The rapid response to phishing emails underscores the need for continuous user education."
• "Stolen credentials and vulnerability exploitation remain preferred methods for attackers."
• "The rise in third-party breaches underscores the importance of vendor security assessments."

REFERENCES:

• MOVEit vulnerability
• FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) ransomware data
• Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA)
• VERIS Community Database (VCDB)

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Implement multi-factor authentication to mitigate the risk of stolen credentials.
• Regularly update and patch systems to protect against vulnerability exploitation.
• Conduct continuous phishing awareness training for all employees.
• Perform thorough security assessments of third-party vendors and suppliers.
• Deploy endpoint detection and response solutions to identify and mitigate ransomware attacks.
• Encourage the reporting of phishing attempts and provide clear reporting procedures.
• Utilize web application firewalls to protect against basic web application attacks.
• Establish robust data backup and recovery processes to minimize the impact of ransomware.
• Monitor for unusual activity indicating the misuse of privileges by internal actors.