According to a recent study, Italy ranks ninth in the world for data breaches, with approximately 267 million accounts compromised since 2004.
On World Password Day, May 2, 2024, Surfshark releases the data relating to the World Map of Data Breaches. These are data which, precisely on a day like this, should push us to make serious reflections on the current risks.
And after having done some serious reflection, it is time to act. Violation systems are increasingly sophisticated and levels of alert and attention must follow hand in hand.
Now let’s take a look at this data with some evaluation of its merit.
Data in Italy for the first three months of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, 1.3 million online users were compromised in Italy, recording a 20% increase compared to the last quarter of 2023, as highlighted by Surfshark, a company specializing in cybersecurity.
By way of comparison, in France there were 4 million accounts hacked in the last quarter, while in Spain 2.3 million.
The analysis highlights that Italy is the ninth most affected country in the world, with 266.8 million accounts compromised since 2004.
Italy ranks ninth in the world for data breaches
Surfshark’s analysis of data breaches over the past 20 years shows that, of the 266.8 million compromised accounts in Italy, 70 million had unique emails.
In 20 years, 25.4 accounts have been compromised per minute.
On average, each email address was hacked along with 2.4 other personal records. A total of 645.3 million personal records were exposed in our country.
For example, 279.7 million passwords were hacked along with Italian accounts, posing serious risks such as identity theft, extortion or other cyber crimes.
Violation cases involving Italy
In the last quarter, the most significant data breach case, which also affected Italy, was that of Cutout.Pro. The breach exposed 20 million user records, globally. In Italy, 63 thousand emails were hacked.
Other violations to report, which affected Italian accounts, are Pandabuy (33,600) and Mr. Green Gaming (293).
Globally, the number of data breaches is rising sharply.
“Surfshark’s extensive monitoring of data breach trends over the past two decades reveals an alarming digital reality: data leaks persist as an ongoing global threat. Since 2004, a staggering total of 17 billion user accounts have been compromised globally, with 400 million incidents recorded as of early this year“, he claims Lina Survila, spokesperson for Surfshark. “We urge everyone to remain vigilant, create strong passwords, not reuse them, and be careful when sharing personal information online“.
17 billion emails hacked
Of the 17 billion accounts breached, 38% had unique email addresses. A total of 60.9 billion records have been exposed (of which 17.2 billion were email addresses) since 2004.
On average, each email address was compromised along with 3 additional data records. American and Russian accounts are the most frequently compromised.
The 10 most affected countries
In descending order, the ten most affected countries since 2004:
- United States (3 billion)
- Russia (2.4 billion)
- China (1.1 billion)
- France (521.6 million)
- Germany (486.7 million)
- Brazil (354.2 million)
- United Kingdom (321.9 million)
- India (320.5 million)
- Italy (266.8 million)
- Canada (213.8 million).
Countries with the highest density of breaches since 2004 (number of breached accounts per resident) include: Russia (16.8), United States (9.0), South Sudan (8.1), France (8.1 ), Czech Republic (6.1), Singapore (5.8), Germany (5.8), Canada (5.5), Australia (5.3), United Kingdom (4.8) and Portugal (4, 7).
When an email account is compromised, the user risks being a victim of identity theft. Scammers may send fake emails and pass them off as genuine communications from known organizations
These same emails may contain virus-infected links or solicitations to reveal additional personal information. Phenomenon that we all know well, more or less.
If the email address has been compromised along with additional personal data such as name and address, scammers may even be able to impersonate the victim for malicious purposes.
If you suspect that your information has been compromised, you should:
- Change your account passwords immediately.
- Enable two-factor authentication where possible.
- Contact your bank if your credit card information has been disclosed.
- Scan your devices for malware.
- Maintain a high level of vigilance against possible fraud, especially if your email address, phone number or other contact information has been compromised.
Indications on the analysis methodology
A data breach occurs when confidential and sensitive data is exposed to unauthorized parties. In this study, each compromised email address used to register for online services is treated as a separate user account, which may have been compromised along with additional information, such as password, phone number, IP address, zip code, and more.
The data was collected by independent partners from 29,000 publicly available databases and aggregated by email address. To determine the location of the email address, several associated parameters were examined, such as domain names, IP addresses, locations, coordinates, currencies or phone numbers. This data was then anonymized and passed on to Surfshark researchers for statistical analysis of the results.
The Global Data Breach Map is updated monthly with the latest data provided by independent partners. Countries with a population of less than 1 million people were not included in the analysis.
For the full methodology, click on this link: https://surfshark.com/research/data-breach-monitoring/methodology
Franz Russo, founder of the InTime blog in 2008, I have collaborated with large national and international companies, as a consultant for communication strategies and as a disseminator. Always committed to digital communication, I always try to combine a deep passion for technological innovation with a holistic vision of the evolution of social media and digital tools. My professional journey in this field, which began in 2007, has been characterized by a constant commitment to describing and interpreting changes in the digital landscape. My approach is based on a mix of strategic analysis, creativity and a deep commitment to storytelling and dissemination.
