Study conducted in Australia shows strong links between data breaches and cybercrime victimisation

A recent Australian study reveals statistically significant relationships between data breaches and cybercrime victimisation in the form of identity theft, online scams and fraud, and ransomware.

An extensive survey conducted in Australia in 2021 revealed that one in ten respondents had been notified of a data breach within the previous twelve months, with roughly 28% of those respondents reporting that they had been a victim of identity theft. Data breaches were mainly due to data custodians being targeted by malicious actors, or to information held by these custodians being released due to human error. Significant relationships were also discovered between data breaches and online scams and fraud, and ransomware.