A new investigative report by Verizon emphasizes the importance of knowing one’s enemy when it comes to preventing cybercrime.

The recently released Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) reveals that no organization, no matter the size or industry, is immune to the threat of cybercriminals. Drawing from a database of worldwide breaches, Verizon found some interesting statistics. Financially motivated breaches accounted for 75% of all breaches, while 20% was attributed to cyberespionage. It was found that 92% of the attacks came from outside the organizations. Financial firms were the most common victims with 37%, followed by retailers and restaurants (24%), and manufacturing, transportation, and utilities (20%).

Large organizations made up 40% of all attacked organizations, but when it came to cyberespionage, smaller organizations of widely varying sizes were the more popular targets. China was the major offender in cyberespionage, being responsible for 96% of attacks.

The takeaway from all these numbers is that different organizations face different types of attacks and thus require different methods of defense against those attacks. A one-size-fits-all approach will more than likely prove more detrimental than helpful, leaving the organization under-protected and unaware of gaps in their protection. It’s important to be constantly vigilant and to understand the enemy, understand what they want and the methods they will use to get it, then design your defenses accordingly.

Original article by Kelly Jackson Higgins.
Read the full story here.