Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR)

The report summarizes Verizon DBIR 2021 findings and emphasizes a sharp increase in ransomware and phishing-driven breaches: ransomware doubled since 2019, 36% of breaches involved phishing, and many ransomware actors now exfiltrate data before encrypting to increase pressure for payment. It outlines impacts (operational disruption, potential financial and reputational loss), notes that most victims avoided direct ransom losses due to backups, and recommends layered detection and response (cross-source visibility, EDR/XDR, DFIR readiness) while highlighting ongoing monitoring of ransomware families.