BOSTON–New research reveals five key trends around data breaches through the first half of 2021.
The analysis was released by Sontiq as part of its Mid-Year 2021Cybercrime Report, which it said leverages its own primary data. In addition, the report’s insights were derived from data generated by Sontiq’s identity theft expert call center, Identity Restoration Team, and through BreachIQ data breach analysis.
Sontiq’s said its BreachIQ product is powered by a patent-pending, AI-driven system that analyzes more than 1,300 data points of a data breach to assess the risk level and assign a 1 through 10 score.
The Five Trends
According to Sontiq, itsMid-Year 2021 Cybercrime Report highlights the following five cybercrime trends:
- Small business threats. The H1 2021 data breaches that were riskiest to consumers were carried out against small and medium-size businesses.
- Attack methods. Email compromise and ransomware were the most common attack methods in the top nine data breaches.
- Incident types. Credit card fraud is the leading type of identity crime.
- Senior targeting. At least two of every 10 calls to the Sontiq Identity & Fraud Restoration Team in H1 2021 were from senior citizens.
- Family protection. Purchase of family (vs. individual) identity theft protection plans is growing, reflecting the increasing cyber threats against minors and senior citizens.
‘New Vulnerabilities’
Jim Van Dyke, SVP-financial wellness with Sontiq, and former advisory board member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said when it comes to consumers’ digital health, the impact of COVID-19 will be felt for a long time.
“Cybercriminals seized on new vulnerabilities created by remote work and the general chaos of the pandemic. Small businesses, in particular, were not as well-equipped to fend off cyberattacks,” he said. “Most people do not realize how dangerous these small-scale data breaches can be.”