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Cyber attack on LED Display.

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Earlier this year I wrote a FORBES article called “Alarming Cybersecurity Stats: What You Need To Know For 2021.”  Alarming Cybersecurity Stats: What You Need To Know For 2021 (forbes.com) It included an assortment of stats on the increase in threats to our digital wellness as companies, governments, and consumers. The article was based on the backdrop of a spate of high-profile cyber-attacks such as Solar Winds, and Colonial Pipeline and had painted a dire assessment of the 2021 first half status of the cyber-threat ecosystem. Now we have reached the second half of 2021. Just when we thought it could not get much worse from a cybersecurity stat perspective, it did.

Better Cybersecurity

Security Protection Secrecy Privacy Firewall Guard Concept

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Americans Seem To Be Wakening Up To The Need for Better Cybersecurity

Let us start with a positive stat, it appears that in the U.S. most are finally waking up to the cyberthreats. Awareness is an important step! A poll by The Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that “about 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, financial institutions, government agencies or certain utilities. About two-thirds say they are very or extremely concerned.” A significant reason while cybercrime and breaches are rising is that most people just view at as someone else’s problem. Securing our digital identities and data is everyone’s problem and it is a global one. Cyberattacks concerning to most in US: Pearson/AP-NORC poll (techxplore.com)

The Number of Data Breaches In 2021 Have Soared Past That Of 2020

More bad news in 2021, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) The number of data breaches publicly reported so far this year has already exceeded the total for 2020, putting 2021 on track for a record year. Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the ITRC, said 2021 is just 238 breaches away from tying the record for a single year. “It’s also interesting to note that the 1,111 data breaches that the amount and quality of data being exfiltrated by hackers. from cyber-attacks so far, this year exceeds the total number of data compromises from all causes in 2020.” For me, the take-away is not the number. They are becoming more systematic in their targeting. <a href="https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/…….

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckbrooks/2021/10/24/more-alarming-cybersecurity-stats-for-2021-/