What percentage of data breaches involve the human element according to Verizon's 2023 report?

In short

According to Verizon's 2023 data breach investigations report, 74% of breaches involve the human element, including errors, privilege misuse and carelessness.

Guest · Lock It Before You Leave It: Why Device Security Starts With You · The IT Smart Guy Podcast · answer at 1:06

Key takeaways

• According to Verizon's 2023 data breach investigations report, 74% of breaches involve the human element, including errors, privilege misuse and carelessness.

Quote to remember

“Most security breaches aren't down to clever attackers. They're caused by human mistakes.”

The full answer · about 1 min

According to Verizon's 2023 data breach investigations report, 74% of breaches involve the human element, including errors, privilege misuse and carelessness. This statistic highlights that most security breaches are not caused by clever attackers but by human mistakes.

Key facts

• Verizon 2023 data breach investigations report: 74% of breaches involve the human element including errors, privilege misuse and carelessness
• Ponemon Institute Research: average cost of insider-related incidents including careless mistakes is over $7.5 million per year for businesses globally
• IBM 2023 cost of data breach report: average cost of a breach for small business is around $3 million globally
• University experiment: 20% of cybersecurity and software development students left their laptops unlocked during a comfort break
• Device lock shortcuts: Windows (Windows key + L), Mac (Control + Command + Q), Mobile (tap power button once)

People, companies and topics mentioned

More answers from this episode

• 5:25What is the average cost of a data breach for small businesses according to IBM's 2023 report?