Hacking Statistics By Cost, Social Media, Industry, Demographics, Websites and Facts
Updated · Jan 09, 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Editor’s Choice
- General Hacking Statistics
- Hacking Type Statistics
- Hacking Statistics By Country
- Hacking Cost Statistics
- Social Media Hacking Statistics
- Hacking Statistics By Industry
- By Victims Demographics
- Website Hacking Statistics
- IoT Hacking Statistics
- Protecting Accounts from Hacking
- Ransomware Attacks Statistics in Financial Institutions
- Cost of Selected Cyberattacks in the Manufacturing Industry
- Mean Time To Identify And Contain Data Breaches
- Total Cost Per Data Breach Statistics By Country and Region
- Demand Influencing Factors for Website Hacking Statistics in 2024
- Conclusion
Introduction
Hacking Statistics: Hacking has become a serious issue in today’s technologically driven world and affects millions of websites globally. In 2024, hackers are now using advanced tools and techniques to break into websites, steal sensitive data, and cause financial losses. Several small and large companies alike are at risk, with many attacks happening due to weak security measures. Most used hacking methods include malware injections, phishing, and brute force attacks.
Websites using outdated software, especially third-party plugins, are easy targets for hackers. The rise of e-commerce and healthcare websites has made these industries prime targets for hackers. In recent years, as hacking incidents continue to rise, businesses need to invest in stronger cybersecurity to protect their websites from potential breaches and minimize the damage caused by hackers.
Editor’s Choice
- Hacking Statistics show that 1.5 billion data records were exposed due to hacking incidents in the first quarter of 2024.
- Around 30% of phishing attacks are carefully targeted, called spear-phishing, focusing on specific individuals or companies.
- In 2024, the average data breach cost for small and medium businesses is USD 1.25 million.
- In the same duration, almost 59% of ransomware victims paid the ransom, which is higher than the 41% who paid in 2023.
- Meanwhile, 45% of companies worldwide faced at least one major hacking attempt, highlighting the growing threat of cyberattacks worldwide.
- 81% of hacking breaches in 2024 occurred because people used weak passwords or had their passwords stolen by hackers.
- In contrast, 34% of companies raised their cybersecurity budget by more than 20% for better protection.
- Hacking Statistics in 2024 further states that 68% of hacking attempts are generated from phishing attacks, which trick people into giving personal information.
- Moreover, the most targeted industry is financial institutions, and approximately 21% of hackers have already attacked.
- Hackers can break into vulnerable systems in just 5 minutes.
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General Hacking Statistics
- Every day, about 2,220 cyberattacks happen, adding up to over 800,000 attacks each year.
- Approximately 14 million IoT devices had security weaknesses in 2024, making them easy targets for hackers.
- In the United States, companies spend USD 4.5 billion on cybersecurity measures to protect against hacking threats.
- As of 2024, hackers had attacked 49% of cloud platforms, an increase of 35% from last year.
- Around 64% of businesses said they are more worried about hacking threats now than in past years.
- As mentioned in Hacking Statistics, almost 22% of healthcare organisations experienced data breaches, affecting patient information and system security.
- Each organisation affected by supply chain hacking in 2024 lost an average of USD 12 million.
- Approximately 90% of successful hacks used social engineering methods to trick people into giving information.
- Similarly, 70% of businesses saw more hacking attempts because of security weaknesses from remote working.
- To stop hacking attempts in the future, 78% of companies are using zero-trust security models.
- In 2024, a record number of 5,000 new hacking groups were found worldwide.
Hacking Type Statistics
- In Q1 2024, 142 ransomware attacks were recorded, affecting 17.6 million data records across various organizations.
- By the end of 2024, phishing will still be the most common hack, causing 52% of all cyberattacks.
- The success of phishing attacks is worrying, with 30% opening emails and 12% clicking harmful links.
- Ransomware is a big threat, and 75% of companies worldwide may face an attack in 2024.
- The total ransomware payments in the US are expected to reach USD 1.4 billion.
- Social engineering attacks rose by 27% in 2024, as hackers used human psychology instead of technical flaws.
- Hacking Statistics further state that ransom demands have risen, with the average payment now over USD 500,000.
Hacking Statistics By Country
In 2024, the United States will account for the highest number of hacking incidents, making up 28% of global hacking incidents, resulting in 1,240,000.
Furthermore, the hacking incidents by other countries in the same year are stated in the table below:
| Country | Number of Incidents | Hacking Share |
| China | 980,000 |
22% |
|
Russia |
720,000 | 16% |
| India | 540,000 |
12% |
|
United Kingdom |
380,000 | 8% |
| Germany | 290,000 |
6% |
|
Brazil |
200,000 | 4% |
| India | 540,000 |
12% |
|
United Kingdom |
380,000 | 8% |
| Germany | 290,000 |
6% |
|
Brazil |
200,000 | 4% |
| Japan | 180,000 |
3% |
|
South Korea |
160,000 | 3% |
| Canada | 140,000 |
3% |
Hacking Cost Statistics
(Reference: cdn.statcdn.com)
- A report published by Techreport states that the global financial impact of cybercrime, including hacking, is expected to rise from USD 9.22 trillion in 2024 to USD 8.15 trillion last year.
- The cost of hacking will be USD 9.22 trillion by 2025, followed by 2026 (USD 11.36 trillion), 2027 (USD 12.43 trillion), and 2028 (USD 13.82 trillion).
Social Media Hacking Statistics
Facebook:
- Hacking incidents in 2024 are estimated to have caused USD 3 billion in losses.
- In the first half of the year, around 20 million accounts were compromised, and phishing attacks through Facebook Messenger increased by 12%.
Instagram:
- Thirty-six thousand people search each month for help with account recovery after being hacked.
- Moreover, 30% of social media hacks happen to Instagram accounts.
Twitter:
- Hacking Statistics further elaborates that nearly 15% of all hacking incidents on social media in 2024 happened on Twitter.
- 18,000 Twitter accounts were hacked every month, and 25% of phishing attacks used Twitter DMs as the main method.
TikTok:
- 11% of all social media hacks in 2024 happened on TikTok.
- About 60 million accounts were reported as compromised worldwide.
Snapchat:
- In 2024, 8% of social media hacks targeted Snapchat users.
- Around 3,500 data breach cases are reported each month.
LinkedIn:
- Almost 13% of all social media hacks in 2024 affected LinkedIn users.
- Ten thousand people search each month for how to recover hacked accounts, with business accounts being the main target.
YouTube:
- As of 2024, almost 7% of social media hacks will target YouTube accounts.
- In 2024, 5,000 YouTube accounts were hacked by phishing attacks, each breach costing influencers around USD 1.2 million.
Reddit:
- Hacking Statistics also states that by the end of 2024, only 6% of social media hacks occurred on Reddit.
- There was a 25% rise in phishing links shared through Reddit posts.
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Hacking Statistics By Industry
Financial Services
- In 2024, 24% of all cyberattacks worldwide targeted the financial sector.
- The average cost of a data breach in this industry was USD 5.72 million, and 28% of breaches were caused by ransomware.
Healthcare
- Healthcare organizations faced 27% of all hacking attacks by the end of 2024.
- Healthcare breaches cost around USD 10.93 million, with 80% of the cases being caused by phishing and malware targeting patient records.
Retail and E-commerce
- Meanwhile, around 33% of retail and e-commerce websites were hit by cyberattacks.
- The main type of attack was SQL injection, causing 35% of data breaches, while card skimming attacks grew by 20%, causing big money losses.
Manufacturing and Energy
- Cyberattacks increased in the manufacturing sector, with 19% of incidents targeting this industry.
- 40% of the breaches happened through vulnerabilities in Operational Technology (OT) and IoT, costing an average of $3.79 million per breach.
Government
- As of 2024, Government organizations faced 16% of all hacking incidents worldwide.
- 45% of these attacks were DDoS attacks, disrupting public services, and the average cost of a breach was USD 2.98 million.
Education
- Hacking Statistics also show that only 14% of schools and universities had hacking attacks in 2024.
- Phishing attacks caused 70% of these breaches, which mostly affected students and teachers and cost an average of USD 3.86 million.
Technology
- 22% of hacking attacks targeted IT and software companies in the technology sector.
- API weaknesses caused 25% of data breaches, with the average cost of a breach being USD 4.5 million.
Hospitality
- The hospitality industry will experience nearly 12% of cyberattacks.
- The average cost of a data breach in this industry is 2.64 million.
By Victims Demographics
- Hacking Statistics show that in 2024, people aged 18 to 24 will experience 22% of hacking incidents due to their frequent use of unsecured public Wi-Fi and social media platforms.
Meanwhile, other hacking incidents shared by other age groups are stated below:
| Age Groups | Victims Share |
| 25 to 34 |
29% |
|
35 to 44 |
21% |
| 45 to 54 |
15% |
|
55+ |
13% |
- In 2024, 55% of hacking victims were men, often through financial fraud, while 45% were women, targeted by social engineering.
- North America had 40% of website hacks in 2024, mostly because of many online financial transactions.
- Europe had 30% of the attacks, mainly due to data breaches related to GDPR, while Asia-Pacific faced 20%, with many attacks on e-commerce sites.
- Other regions, including Africa and South America, made up 10%, with more ransomware incidents.
Website Hacking Statistics
- In 2024, approximately 30,000 websites will be hacked daily.
- Meanwhile, small businesses are supposed to face 43% of cyber attacks.
- The average website breach cost will reach USD 4.35 million by 2024, a 5% increase from 2023.
- In the same year, ransomware attacks increased, and 71% of businesses faced demands averaging USD 258,000 per attack.
- 80% of website hacks are caused by external attackers, while 20% come from insider threats, either by accident or intent.
- Hacking Statistics in 2025, AI-driven cyber-attacks may increase by 20%, making automated hacking tools more challenging for website security.
IoT Hacking Statistics
- About 5,200 cyber-attacks target IoT devices like smart home gadgets every month, constantly disrupting daily life and routines.
- On average, hackers only need 5 minutes to break into an IoT device, making it highly vulnerable.
- In fiscal year 2024, around 33% of attacks on IoT devices may impact critical operations, followed by 32% lack of skilled personnel to implement IoT security.
|
Protecting sensitive data generated by an IoT device |
31% |
| Identifying and discovering sensitive data generated by an IoT device |
27% |
|
Lack of security frameworks and controls within the IoT environment |
26% |
| Lack of industry standards for securing IoT devices |
25% |
|
Validating the integrity of data collected by IoT devices |
7% |
| Privileged user’s access to IoT devices |
2% |
Protecting Accounts from Hacking
(Source: financesonline.com)
- Hacking Statistics show that almost 69% of people say they now choose stronger passwords when creating financial accounts to keep their information safer.
- 54% of people are adding extra security steps to protect their accounts and improve their online safety.
- Around 24% of adults in the United States use a password manager to store and manage their passwords securely.
Ransomware Attacks Statistics in Financial Institutions
(Reference: statista.com)
- In 2024, about 65% of financial companies worldwide faced a ransomware attack, up from 64% in 2023.
- In previous years, ransomware attack rates were 55% in 2022 and 34% in 2021.
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Cost of Selected Cyberattacks in the Manufacturing Industry
- Hacking Statistics also mentioned that one of the biggest attacks in 2023 was on Clorox, which resulted in a sales loss of USD 356 million from reduced production.
- Another major hack affected a partner of semiconductor giant Applied Materials, costing the company USD 250 million in damages.
The table below shows the estimated cost of some cyberattacks in manufacturing globally in March 2024:
| Company | Cost of the attacks |
| Mondelez |
USD 100 million |
|
Brunswick Corporation |
USD 85 million |
| Norsk Hydro |
USD 75 million |
|
Johnson Controls |
USD 27 million |
| JBS |
USD 11 million |
Mean Time To Identify And Contain Data Breaches
(Reference: statista.com)
- Hacking Statistics show that, in 2024, it took an average of 194 days to find data breaches, 4% faster than last year.
- In the same year, companies took an average of 64 days to stop security breaches after they were detected.
- Similarly, the mean time to identify and contain data breaches in 2023 was 204 days and 73 days.
Total Cost Per Data Breach Statistics By Country and Region
(Reference: statista.com)
- In February 2024, the United States had the highest data breach cost, averaging USD 9.36 million.
- In the Middle East region, the average cost of data breaches resulted in USD 8.75 million.
- Benelux came next in the ranking, with earnings of USD 5.9 million in total.
- During the period, the worldwide average cost of a data breach was USD 4.88 million.
- Furthermore, other regions and countries average cost of a data breach from March 2023 to February 2024 were Germany (USD 5.3 million), Italy (USD 4.73 million), Canada (USD 4.66 million), United Kingdom (USD 4.53 million), Japan (USD 4.19 million), France (USD 4.17 million), Latin America (USD 4.16 million), South Korea (USD 3.62 million), ASEAN (USD 3.23 million), Australia (USD 2.78 million), South Africa (USD 2.78 million), India (USD 2.35 million) and Brazil (USD 1.36 million).
Demand Influencing Factors for Website Hacking Statistics in 2024
- Increased Digital Transactions: As more businesses shift online, especially in e-commerce and finance, hackers have more chances to attack, causing a 10% increase in payment system breaches.
- Remote Work Vulnerabilities: Since 2020, remote work has led to more hacking attempts. In 2024, 45% of attacks targeted weak remote connections and VPNs, increasing demand for better security.
- Lack of Cybersecurity Awareness: Many small businesses are not ready for cyber threats, with 67% saying they don’t have enough security. This leads to a higher demand for cheaper website protection.
- Regulatory Compliance: New laws, such as the CCPA and GDPR updates, require businesses to invest in website security to avoid fines and data breaches.
- AI-Driven Hacking Tools: Automated hacking tools are easier to get, causing more attacks, with AI bots responsible for 23% in 2024.
- Growing Cloud Adoption: As more businesses use cloud services, cloud security breaches increased by 21% in 2024 due to poor access controls and misconfigurations.
- Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Many websites, especially WordPress, are at risk because 40% use old plugins, making them more vulnerable to hacking.
- Emergence of Quantum Computing: The future risk of quantum computers breaking traditional encryption is pushing companies to invest in new encryption methods that resist quantum attacks.
Conclusion
Website hacking continues to be a serious threat to businesses and individuals. Hackers target websites using different methods, including malware, phishing, and brute force attacks. Small businesses are especially vulnerable because they often lack strong security measures. Outdated software and plugins, particularly on platforms like WordPress, increase the risk of hacking. The financial cost of website breaches is rising, with companies facing large expenses to recover from attacks. Data breaches also exposed millions of customer records, leading to further financial and reputational damage.
As hackers become more advanced, website owners need to invest in better security tools like firewalls, encryption, and multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of being hacked.
Sources
FAQ.
Ethical hackers use tools like Nmap, Metasploit, Wireshark, and Burp Suite to find and fix system security weaknesses.
Hacking attempts are when someone tries to break into a computer system or website without permission to steal data.
Hackers use tools such as malware, phishing, brute-force attacks, and ransomware to steal data or control websites.
Modern-day hackers are individuals or groups who break into computer systems to steal data, cause damage, or make money.
The most hacked device is the smartphone, as it’s commonly targeted due to its widespread use and sensitive information.
Pramod Pawar brings over a decade of SEO expertise to his role as the co-founder of 11Press and Prudour Market Research firm. A B.E. IT graduate from Shivaji University, Pramod has honed his skills in analyzing and writing about statistics pertinent to technology and science. His deep understanding of digital strategies enhances the impactful insights he provides through his work. Outside of his professional endeavors, Pramod enjoys playing cricket and delving into books across various genres, enriching his knowledge and staying inspired. His diverse experiences and interests fuel his innovative approach to statistical research and content creation.
