Thales 2023 Data Threat Report: Sovereignty, Transformation, and Global Challenges

Despite the economic and geopolitical instability in 2022, enterprises continued to invest in their operations and digital transformation. Organizations balanced security and privacy risks with opportunities opened by new technologies and business models. The 2023 Thales Global Data Threat Report survey, conducted by S&P Global Market Intelligence with nearly 3,000 respondents across 18 countries, illustrates how decision-makers ranging from senior executive leaders to individual practitioners manage this balance.

This article highlights the key findings of the report.

We are only human

Nearly half (47%) of the survey respondents say that attacks are increasing in volume or severity, similar to numbers reported in 2021 and 2022. Of those respondents seeing an increase in attacks, 59% report increases in malware, 48% an increase in ransomware, and 43% have seen a rise in phishing attacks.

However, the reported threat sources have been changing. While malicious insiders were a top concern in previous years, simple human error, misconfiguration, or other mistakes that can accidentally lead to breaches are identified as the leading cause of cloud data breaches. 55% of respondents who experienced a recent cloud data breach said human error is the #1 root cause of cloud data breaches.

On the bright side, there is clear evidence that more positive user behaviors emerge. While multi-factor authentication (MFA) adoption was stagnant at 55% for 2021 and 2022, in 2023, it jumped to 65%, highlighting how more stringent identification measures are gradually becoming standard practice. In broader terms, Identity and Access Management (IAM) has emerged as a top priority tool for preventing data breaches. 28% of respondents identified IAM as the leading security technology most effectively protecting sensitive data from cyberattacks.

Digital sovereignty is a strategic initiative

Although moving data benefits businesses in multiple ways, data protection and compliance in the cloud is more

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