Industries most impacted in 2019 continued to be hard hit in both 2020 and so far in 2021, including healthcare, education and financial services. However, the greatest percentage increases occurred in industries that had been generally spared in 2019. The overall implication is that data attacks became broader and deeper during the pandemic, a trend that continues during the recovery.
We attribute the rise in data breach notification cases to four trends: the shift to remote work, which has left employees and employers more vulnerable to cybercrime; the evolution of ransomware into data extortion schemes; the rising impact of supply chain attacks; and the combination of stricter privacy regulations with increased awareness of privacy rights. These drivers affect companies in all industries, even the ones that haven’t historically been targets of cyberattacks.
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