The numbers are in for Q3 2023 data breaches and the trend is favorable. According to the report by cybersecurity firm Surfshark, U.S. breaches remained steady at 8.1 million breaches for the second quarter in a row. While the number is still high, it was a six-fold decrease from Q1 – down from 50.2 million. Even with this substantial decrease, the U.S. still remains the most data-breached country in the world by number of breaches.
Graph courtesy of SurfShark
As the chart above shows, over 31 million accounts globally were breached in Q3 which equates to a 76% decrease from the 133 million breaches in the previous quarter. Put another way, 240 accounts were leaked each minute compared to 1,030 each minute in Q2. The graph above shows the U.S. and Russia are still the two most breached countries … with France a distant third. Russia and France saw decreases from last quarter, as well, making them 2nd and 3rd. However, China and Mexico saw increases over their previous quarter, moving them into 4th and 5th place.
Continent Sampling
If we look at just Europe, they had the highest number of breached accounts as a continent – 11 million, down from 48 million in Q2. Sixty-five percent of these breaches were in Russia. While they have been blamed for engineering many high-profile breaches against the U.S and other countries, the data shows they are a major victim themselves.
Asia also saw a decrease. Globally, Asia accounts for only 12% of breached accounts. When compared to all the continents, they are third in line after Europe and North America.
South America saw a slight increase in leaked accounts at 1.8M million, but it only accounts for 6% of all breached accounts.
Africa made great strides at reducing their data breaches, which ended up being down 70%. They now account for only 1% of affected accounts.
Breach Density
This metric looks at the number of accounts per 1,000 residents. This metric is measured by dividing a country’s total breach number by its population. Looking at numbers this way gives us a deeper understanding of the likelihood of experiencing a data breach in various countries.
For example, if two countries have the same number of compromised accounts, the residents of a country with a smaller population are more likely to experience a data breach.
Graph courtesy of SurfShark
What is interesting to note about this metric is that while Russia had the second highest number of breaches, they had almost twice the breach density, meaning Russian residents are twice as likely to experience a data breach as is the U.S. As far as breach density, the U.S. was third after Russia and France. While data breaches are down by 76% globally, 240 accounts are still being breached each minute.
What To Do If Breached
If you suspect that your account has been breached, follow these steps:
- Change your passwords.
- Contact your bank if your credit card details were compromised.
- Scan your devices for malware.
- Request deletion of the leaked account if you don’t use the service.
While data breaches are still a problem, progress in most countries seems to be on the increase meaning cybersecurity measures appear to be working when they are implemented and followed
