Get a behind-the-scenes look at cyber investigations through the first-ever Verizon Data Breach Digest

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Mar 02, 2016, 03:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, March 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA 2016 -- In the secretly shrouded world of data breach investigations, few know what goes on in the field. Today Verizon unveiled its first Data Breach Digest, a behind-the-scenes look at cyber investigations that tell the stories behind the Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), developed by Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

The new report from Verizon's Research, Investigations, Solutions and Knowledge (RISK) Team details 18 real-world data breach scenarios based on their prevalence and/or lethality in the field. Twelve of the cases represent more than 60 percent of the 1,175 cases investigated by the RISK team over the past three years while the other six are less common but more lethal.

For each scenario, you go through a detailed analysis of how the attack occurred, level of sophistication, threat actors involved, tactics and techniques used and recommended countermeasures. All data is categorized according to the standardized VERIS (Vocabulary for Event Recording and Incident Sharing) Framework used to compile the DBIR.

The report will help businesses and government organizations understand how to identify signs of a data breach, important sources of evidence and ways to quickly investigate, contain and recover from a breach.

"The research suggests that at any given time, the vast majority of incidents fall into a small number of actual breach scenarios," said Bryan Sartin, managing director, the RISK Team, Verizon Enterprise Solutions. "There is tremendous commonality in the breaches we see and investigate on behalf of our clients."

The report groups the 18 scenarios into four different types of breaches and gives each a personality, including these select examples:

The human element
- Social engineering – The Hyper Click
- Partner misuse – The Busted Chain
Condit devices
- Peripheral tampering – The Bad Tuna
- Hacktivist attack – The Dark Shadow
Configuration exploitation
- Backdoor access – The Alley Cat
- CMS compromise – The Roman Holiday
Malicious software
- Data ransomware – The Catch 22
- RAM scraping – The Leaky Boot

In an effort to preserve anonymity, Verizon has modified/excluded certain details of each real-world situation including changing names, geographic locations, quantity of records stolen and monetary loss details. Everything else has been imported straight from Verizon's case files.

The Verizon RISK Team performs cyber investigations for hundreds of commercial enterprises and government agencies across the globe. In 2015, the RISK team investigated more than 500 cybersecurity incidents in more than 40 countries. In 2008, the results of this team's field investigations were the genesis of the first Data Breach Investigations Report, an annual publication that dissects real-world data breaches with the goal of enlightening the public about the nature of threat actors behind the attacks, the methods they use, including the data they seek and the victims they target.

To access the full digest, visit: http://verizonenterprise.com/databreachdigest

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) employs a diverse workforce of 177,700 and generated nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 112 million retail connections nationwide. Headquartered in New York, the company also provides communications and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.

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Verizon Enterprise Online News Room: News releases, blog posts, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon Enterprise Solutions News & Insights (news.verizonenterprise.com). News from Verizon Enterprise Solutions is also available through an RSS feed at http://www.verizonenterprise.com/rss-options/.

Media contact:
Janet Brumfield
+1.614.582.9636
[email protected]
Twitter: janet_brumfield

Nilesh Pritam - APAC
+65.9277.9048
[email protected]
Twitter: @Nilesh_pritam

Clare Ward – EMEA
+44.118.905.3501
[email protected]
Twitter: @ClareWSpeaks

SOURCE Verizon