Data Breach Trends for 2024
Here, we’ll go through some of the top cybersecurity statistics that we gleaned from our survey data, specifically concerning the prevalence of data breaches.
1. Computer viruses were the top reason for data breaches in 2024 (Tech.co, 2025)
According to the business leaders that told Tech.co their company had experienced a data breach in 2024, 53% said that a computer virus such as ransomware was to blame, which is more than double the 22% who said the same in 2023.
Meanwhile, 31% put it down to employee errors (up from 12% the year prior), such as sending information to the wrong email address, and a further 40% determined the source to be a phishing attack, up from 23% in 2023. This suggests that businesses should make training and educating staff just as pivotal to their cybersecurity strategy as software is.
2. A mere 1.6% of senior leaders can correctly identify a phishing scam. (Tech.co, 2025)
Easily the most concerning cybersecurity statistic from Tech.co’s annual report is that the overwhelming majority of business leaders can’t spot a phishing attempt. That’s according to our finding that only 1.6% of respondents could identify the exact three clear indicators of a phishing email, when given a list of nine potential indicators.
In total, 33% of respondents made incorrect assumptions about the signs of a phishing email. We’d certainly hope senior leadership could avoid being scammed, but perhaps this is a sign that comprehensive cybersecurity protocols can overcome any one individual’s mistakes.
3. The majority of businesses did not experience a data breach in 2024 (Tech.co, 2025)
A rare pleasant surprise from our findings is that 79% of the businesses that responded to our survey didn’t experience a data breach in 2023. Last year, that statistic stood at 78%, so companies have continued handling themselves well overall.
While data breaches are a common and ever-present threat to any businesses that store sensitive information about their employees, clients and customers online, if you implement the right steps to secure it, you’ll greatly reduce your risk of becoming a target.
That said, the fact that 16% of businesses did suffer a breach is plenty alarming, even though this is down from 22 last year. It still means your organization’s odds of suffering a breach are nearly 1 in 5, further underlining the importance of having a robust cybersecurity strategy complete with the right tools.
4. Data breaches are more common in businesses with more than 25 employees (Tech.co, 2024)
Interestingly, when you employ your 25th employee, your chance of being affected by a data breach almost triples, while companies with more than 50 people on their payroll are even more likely to be compromised by cybercriminals.
