This statistic shows the most common avenues of external attacks in the prior year on organizations in Europe and North America, according to a survey conducted between April and May 2014. As of May 2014, 32 percent of respondents reported the use of stolen credentials in external attacks on their organization in the previous 12 months.
How was the external attack on your company in the past 12 months carried out?
Characteristic
Proportion of respondents
Software vulnerability (software exploit)
53%
User interaction (watering hole attack, phising, malicious link, email attachment)
44%
Web application (SQL injection, cross-site scripting, remote file inclusion)
security technology decision-makers who have experienced and external data-breach in the past 12 months (1,000+ employees)
Method of interview
Online survey
Supplementary notes
* The source phrased the orginal question as follows: "How was the external attack (on your company in the last 12 months) carried out?" Multiple responses were possible.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
Forrester Research. (April 22, 2015). How was the external attack on your company in the past 12 months carried out? [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/500711/worldwide-it-vulnerabilities-attack-avenues/
Forrester Research. "How was the external attack on your company in the past 12 months carried out?." Chart. April 22, 2015. Statista. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/500711/worldwide-it-vulnerabilities-attack-avenues/
Forrester Research. (2015). How was the external attack on your company in the past 12 months carried out?. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/500711/worldwide-it-vulnerabilities-attack-avenues/
Forrester Research. "How Was The External Attack on Your Company in The past 12 Months Carried Out?." Statista, Statista Inc., 22 Apr 2015, https://www.statista.com/statistics/500711/worldwide-it-vulnerabilities-attack-avenues/
Forrester Research, How was the external attack on your company in the past 12 months carried out? Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/500711/worldwide-it-vulnerabilities-attack-avenues/ (last visited July 22, 2024)
How was the external attack on your company in the past 12 months carried out? [Graph], Forrester Research, April 22, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/500711/worldwide-it-vulnerabilities-attack-avenues/
