In the month of July, one hacker going by the handle TheDarkOverlord made up 30% of all data breaches. He also had the largest breach with 23,565 records being put on the Dark Web for sale. Even more surprising is that on average it took two years before a breach was reported, and in one case six years passed before being reported.
June had been a record breaking month with 11 million records breached, 41% of which were perpetrated by hackers. Fortunately July saw a drop with health records and other breaches down to 126,930.
There were breaches in nearly half of all US states. Healthcare organizations made up 87% percent followed by health plans, vendors and a military prison. Both paper records and business associates accounted for 25% of breaches.
CEO, Founder & AI Architect, Petronella Technology Group
Craig Petronella founded Petronella Technology Group in 2002 and has spent 20+ years professionally at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, compliance, and digital forensics. He holds the CMMC Registered Practitioner credential issued by the Cyber AB and leads Petronella as a CMMC-AB Registered Provider Organization (RPO #1449). Craig is an NC Licensed Digital Forensics Examiner (License #604180-DFE) and completed MIT Professional Education programs in AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. He also holds CompTIA Security+, CCNA, and Hyperledger certifications.
He is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author of 15+ books on cybersecurity and compliance, host of the Encrypted Ambition podcast (95+ episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon), and a cybersecurity keynote speaker with 200+ engagements at conferences, law firms, and corporate boardrooms. Craig serves as Contributing Editor for Cybersecurity at NC Triangle Attorney at Law Magazine and is a guest lecturer at NCCU School of Law. He has served as a digital forensics expert witness in federal and state court cases involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency fraud, SIM-swap attacks, and data breaches.
Under his leadership, Petronella Technology Group has served hundreds of regulated SMB clients across NC and the southeast since 2002, earned a BBB A+ rating every year since 2003, and been featured as a cybersecurity authority on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and WRAL. The company leverages SOC 2 Type II certified platforms and specializes in AI implementation, managed cybersecurity, CMMC/HIPAA/SOC 2 compliance, and digital forensics for businesses across the United States.