Almost every industry in the US’s modern economy involves technology in some way. Whether that’s using a 

 to connect yourself with different parts of the world, or simply using wireless earphones for your morning calls.

With this increasing reliance on technology in our day-to-day lives, more and more young people are beginning to pursue a career in the tech industry. That’s why we wanted to find out where they can enhance their chances of being successful. We’ve looked at employment, salaries, universities and broadband speed to crown one state as the tech capital of the US.

Massachusetts is the tech capital of the US, with a score of 8.5/10

We’ve looked at several factors, including employment, tech businesses, universities and internet speed, to crown a state as the tech capital of the US.

Taking the top spot is Massachusetts, with an overall tech score of 8.5/10. Other than its internet speed, Massachusetts ranks highly in all categories and is in the top five for five of the eight categories. Massachusetts also has the highest percentage of people in the tech industry.

Taking second place is Colorado with a tech score of 8.42/10. Apart from the broadband coverage, Colorado scores highly across the board, with the second-highest percentage of people employed in the tech industry and the fourth-highest number of tech business establishments per 100,000 people.

Completing our top three is Virginia, which has earned itself a tech score of 8.37/10. Despite poor broadband coverage, Virginia has a high internet speed and a high percentage of people in the tech industry. People in Virginia who are employed in the tech industry can also expect to earn 136% more than the state’s median salary.

California and New York have more tech universities than any other state with five

Going to a good university can set you up for a successful career in any industry you choose. That’s why we’ve looked at the states with the most tech universities.

California is one of two states to take the top spot with a total of five tech universities. California’s five tech universities are based in Arcata, Claremont, Pasadena, Pomona, and San Luis Obispo. Pasadena’s California Institute of Technology is ranked as the best of the five, sitting in 9th in the national university rankings.

Also with five universities is New York, which shares the top spot with California. New York’s tech universities are based in Potsdam, Utica, Troy, Henrietta, and Old Westbury. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is the highest-ranked tech university, which sits 51st in the national university rankings.

Michigan takes third place with three tech universities. Flint, Southfield, and Houghton are the cities of Michigan’s tech universities. Michigan Technological University, based in Houghton, sits highest out of the state's tech universities, with a national university ranking of 151.

Maryland has faster internet than any other state in the US, with an average speed of 196mbps

There’s nothing more frustrating than buffering when you’re trying to work, play video games, or stream the latest series. That’s why we’ve looked into the average internet speed of every state in the US.

1. Maryland – 196.2 Mbps average internet speed

Maryland’s average internet speed is the fastest in the US at 196.2 Mbps. Not only is Maryland’s internet speed the fastest, but the broadband coverage is also one of the highest in the US at just over 95%. Although Maryland isn’t known for its rapid internet speed, it is known for its blue crabs which are commonly found in the Chesapeake Bay.

2. Virginia – 193.1 Mbps average internet speed

In second place is Virginia, with an average internet speed of 193.1 Mbps. Despite its fast internet speed, Virginia’s broadband coverage is quite low at just 84%, which is in the bottom half of states. Virginia is known as the ‘Mother of Presidents’, providing more Presidents than any other state.

3. New York – 190.5 Mbps average internet speed

Completing our top three is New York which has an average internet speed of 190.5 Mbps. New York’s broadband coverage is also the third highest in the US at 96.8%. Among New York’s worldwide fame, lies the headquarters of Kickstarter, which was one of Time’s top ten best inventions of 2010.

Massachusetts has more employees in the tech industry than any other state, with over 4,300 per 100,000

Getting a job in the tech industry can be hard. So we’ve looked at the states which are employing the most people in tech.

1. Massachusetts – 4,321 employed in the tech industry per 100,000

Taking the top spot is Massachusetts, with just over 4,300 employees in the tech industry per 100,000 people. Massachusetts has just under 308,000 people employed in the tech industry, which makes up 8.6% of the working population, the third highest in the US.

2. Washington – 4,219 employed in the tech industry per 100,000

Washington’s total of 4,219 people employed in the tech industry per 100,000 gives them second place in our list. Washington has more employees in the tech industry than Massachusetts, in first place, with a total of 333,000. This total makes up 9.4% of the working population, which is actually the highest percentage in the US.

3. Virginia – 4,013 employed in the tech industry per 100,000

Completing our top three is Virginia, with just over 4,000 people employed in the tech industry per 100,000. Virginia has a total of 350,000 people employed in the tech industry, which makes up 8.7% of the working population, the second highest in the US.

Almost 10% of Washington’s workforce is in the tech industry, the highest in the US

We wanted to find out which states have the highest percentage of its workforce working in the tech industry.

1. Washington – 9.4% of workforce employed in the tech industry

Washington takes the top spot with 9.4% of their workforce employed in the tech industry. Washington has over 330,000 people employed in the tech industry, which is spread across just 15,000 tech businesses. Not only does Washington have the highest percentage of people employed in tech, but the median salary here is also the highest in the US, at $124,000 a year. This is 147% higher than the state's median, which is the second highest in the US.

2. Virginia – 8.7% of workforce employed in the tech industry

In second place is Virginia, where the 350,000 people employed in the tech industry make up 8.7% of the workforce. Virginia’s total of people employed in tech is spread over just 20,000 tech businesses. However, Virginia’s median salary in tech is 136% higher than the state's median.

3. Massachusetts – 8.6% of workforce employed in the tech industry

Completing our top three is Massachusetts, with 8.6% of its workforce employed in the tech industry. There are over 300,000 people employed in the tech industry, which is spread over 15,000 tech businesses. Those working in the tech industry in this state can expect to earn almost double the median salary.

 for the average internet speed and broadband coverage. 

For the percentage of workforce in tech, the median tech salary, the percentage higher than the median state wage, net tech employment, and tech business establishments, we used 

District of Columbia was removed.We then used the 2022 population in each state from 

 to work out the number of tech business establishments per 100,000.

We put this data into a weighted table giving each factor a normalized score out of 10. We then took an average of these scores to get an overall score out of 10 which we used to rank each state.

District of Columbia was not included in the data.

U.S Tech States

In 2021, over $5 billion was lost in the U.S. alone as a result of fraud, with business-related fraud being one of the most common forms.

Business fraud can be committed by people both inside and outside a business and it can appear in many forms, such as fake job opportunities, pyramid schemes, data theft, and false accounting.

There are plenty of ways in which businesses can keep themselves and their information safe from fraudsters. For example, it’s important to create strong and unique passwords. You can also use a 

 and install antivirus software, for extra precaution.

However, even whilst taking all of these precautions, hackers, and fraudsters can still sometimes manage to gain the information they need. Both employees and employers are targeted by fraud every day within the U.S. That’s why, here at Proxyrack, we wanted to find out which states in the U.S. are the business fraud hotspots of 2022.

In the first three quarters of 2022, there were almost 1.7 million fraud reports filed. We’ve taken a look at which states have received the most fraud reports in 2022 in the following categories: business and job opportunities, investment fraud, and office supplies and services. We’ll also be providing you with some tips on how to keep you and your business safe from fraudulent incidents.

The U.S States with the Highest Number of Business & Job Opportunity Related Fraud Reports

Business and job opportunities refers to offers to start a new business, work-at-home plans (e.g stuffing envelopes or processing medical claims), multi-level marketing schemes, job scams, job listings, employment services, inventions, or idea promotions.

In the first three quarters of 2022, there were a total of 69,557 fraud reports relating to business and job opportunities, with approximately $250 million being lost as a direct cause of this. The most common form of fraud this year, for all people aged between 20-79, was business imposter fraud, with the 60-69 age group falling victim to this the most.

1. Nevada - 790 reports in total / 248 reports per 1 million people

Nevada is the state with the highest number of business and job opportunity-related fraud reports, with 248 reports per 1 million people and 790 reports in total.

In October this year, a Nevada resident pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining over $500,000 in Covid-19 relief loans, which were filed under the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The 51-year-old resident submitted at least 11 loan applications, with two being successful. The applications indicated that the two organizations had numerous employees, significant payroll expenses and substantial revenue, however, this was not the case.

2. Maryland - 1,284 reports in total / 205.18 reports per 1 million people

The state with the second highest number of business and job opportunity-related fraud reports is Maryland, with 205.18 reports per 1 million people and 1,284 reports in total.

Similar to the previously mentioned case in Nevada, in November this year, a Maryland resident pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud conspiracy, after unlawfully obtaining Covid-19 relief loans and unemployment benefits. The 25-year-old resident, alongside his co-conspirator, had created fictitious aliases by using the personal identification of real people, and used inoperative corporate organizations and new business entities with no actual business operations, in order to apply for PPP and EIDL loans, and unemployment benefits totaling over $750,000.

3. Florida - 4,443 reports in total / 201.17 reports per 1 million people

Florida has the third highest number of business and job opportunity-related fraud reports, with 201.17 reports per 1 million people and 4,443 reports in total.

In September of 2022, a Florida resident pleaded guilty to three cases involving paying and receiving unlawful illicit payments, healthcare fraud, and money laundering in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida. In part of the complicated case that spanned multiple years, the 58-year-old businessman and two co-conspirators formed a company called OptimuMD and purchased a 3% interest in Executive Pharmacy. This meant that those involved were to receive up to 70% of the gross revenue from the pharmacy, as well as receiving kickbacks (illicit payments) for fraudulent prescriptions. The resident admitted to receiving over $4.2 million from the scheme.

The U.S States with the Highest Number of Investment Related Fraud Reports

Investment refers to opportunities in day trading, gold and gems, art, rare coins, companies that offer advice or seminars on investment, or other investment products.

In the first three quarters of 2022, investment-related fraud featured in the top three most common forms of fraud overall, with miscellaneous investments appearing in the top 10 most common forms of fraud in all age groups between 20-80+. Fraud reports relating to miscellaneous investments were the most common in the 30-39 age group, with 11,866 reports overall, totaling a loss of $22.02 million.

1. California - 9,376 reports in total / 234.43 reports per 1 million people

California is the state with the highest number of investment-related fraud reports, with 234.43 reports per 1 million people and 9,376 reports in total.

In August this year, a California resident was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to his connection to a nationwide investment scheme, which involved fraudulent wireless spectrum and dental franchise investments. The 70-year-old resident and his co-conspirators successfully deceived hundreds of retirement-age investors by convincing them to either invest in or send money to companies owned and controlled by the group of fraudsters. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, the victims suffered a total collective loss in excess of $20 million.

2. Nevada - 737 reports in total / 231.37 reports per 1 million people

The state with the second highest number of investment-related fraud reports is Nevada, with 231.37 reports per 1 million people and 737 reports in total.

In March this year, the FBI began searching for victims of a Ponzi scheme that had been operating in Nevada between 2017 and March 2022. The investment fraud scheme promised to return up to 13% within 90 days if victims invested either $80,000 or $100,000. It is thought that the majority of victims were introduced to the scheme in public places, such as churches and gyms.

3. Washington - 1,485 reports in total / 187.94 reports per 1 million people

Washington has the third highest number of investment-related fraud reports, with 187.94 reports per 1 million people and 1,485 reports in total.

In September this year, a former Washington resident faced a 25-count indictment for wire and securities fraud. Throughout the complex scheme, the 42-year-old used Twitter, press releases, securities filings, and claims of great wealth in order to convince marijuana business owners, private investors, and investors who purchased over-the-counter stock, to invest millions of dollars. He did this by creating a company that provided banking services to marijuana businesses in areas such as Washington, Colorado, and California. Between 2019 and 2021, he allegedly managed to receive money from three of these businesses, of which they lost approximately $3.7 million.

The U.S States with the Highest Number of Office Supplies & Services Related Fraud Reports

Office supplies and services refers to fraudulent or deceptive offers for items such as toner, copier paper, maintenance supplies, equipment maintenance contracts, classified advertising, and yellow page invoice scams, and website cramming schemes.

There were a total of 2,590 office-related fraud reports in the first three quarters of 2022, with 1,471 reports relating to directory listings and ad space, and 1,119 reports relating to supplies and services. The total loss reported due to office-related fraud in 2022 was $1.9 million.

1. Tennessee - 104 reports in total / 14.81 reports per 1 million people

Tennessee is the state with the highest number of office-related fraud reports, with 14.81 reports per 1 million people and 104 reports in total.

Back in 2019, there was a relatively high profile case of an office supplies-related scam, in which scammers rang various institutions claiming to be from office supply vendors, such as RJ Young. The scammers would tell the victims that there had been a cost increase to supplies, before offering the victim a considerable discount if they purchased items immediately. This led various institutions, such as Vanderbilt University in Nashville, to provide official warnings to its employees to be aware of the scam.

2. Alaska - 9 reports in total / 12.19 reports per 1 million people

The state with the second highest number of office-related fraud reports is Alaska, with 12.19 reports per 1 million people and nine reports in total.

In the past, there have been some large scale office related scams in Alaska, including the scam dubbed “Toner Phoners”. The scam involved an initial phone call from someone claiming to be from the company Xerox, telling the victim that the price of their toner had increased, but that they would be honoring the original price and someone would be calling them about their invoice promptly. The victim would then receive a second phone call from another individual asking for their email address in order to send the invoice over. It was later discovered that many companies in Alaska had been victims of the scam, with some agreeing to pay the fake invoice.

3. Montana - 12 reports in total / 10.88 reports per 1 million people

Montana has the third highest number of office-related fraud reports, with 10.88 reports per 1 million people and 12 reports in total.

In 2018, many businesses in Montana were victims of a yellow pages scam. Owners of businesses would receive a fake invoice in the mail, which featured the yellow pages logo and some contact information. The invoice would state that the company owes $500 and that the payment was already overdue, and therefore needed to be paid in order for their credit score to remain in good standing. If the fake invoice was paid, the business would then be hounded with further invoices in the mail and receive threatening phone calls.

10 Tips On How to Keep Your Business Safe From Fraud

Unfortunately, every business is at risk of falling victim to a fraud attack. This is due to the fact that there are so many different forms of fraud.

It’s important to realize that fraud can be committed by employees, customers, suppliers, and third parties which have no connection to the business.

Fraud can seem very complicated and hard to understand for some people, particularly because fraudulent criminals can have a lot of skills, tools, and techniques that the majority of people would find confusing and can’t even begin to understand.

There is no single solution that will allow you to escape fraudulent attacks. However, there are multiple precautions that you can take to minimize the chance of this happening. Here are ten top tips on how you can keep yourself and your business safe from fraud.

When you own and/or run your own business, it’s perfectly plausible to be skeptical about aspects of your business. In fact, it’s important to question things. Whether it’s a potential contract deal or opportunity, a new transaction, or an important document, be very thorough when checking through these things, and don’t be afraid to question people, in order to ensure that things are legitimate.

2.Make sure you know your business from the inside out

It’s also important to ensure that you have a thorough and genuine understanding of all aspects of your business, including how it operates, the staff you employ, who your target market is, the products and/or services that you provide, and all of your legal and regulatory obligations as a business. The more information that you know, the more familiar you will be with each aspect of your business. This will then allow you to be able to pick up on unusual activity more often.

3. Identify any potentially vulnerable areas within your business

When it comes to identifying potentially vulnerable areas, it’s a good idea to put yourself in the scammer's shoes. What information do they want/need? Where would they find this information? How would they access it? Once you have identified these areas, it’s important to ensure that they are protected and not easy to access. Ensure that all of these areas and the systems that are protecting them, are regularly checked and updated.

4. Protect your business against cyber attacks

With the advancement of technology in recent years, it’s essential to ensure that your business is protected from cyber attacks as much as possible. For example, as previously mentioned, some precautions that you can take include using a residential proxy, installing antivirus software, and creating strong and unique passwords. It’s also important to regularly back up all of your data, systems, and software.

U.S Business Fraud Report

Everyone knows the importance of staying safe online. Amongst all the great things that the internet has brought us, it has also presented opportunities for hackers and scammers to make an illegitimate living.

There are many things you can do to stay safe online, such as using a 

 and installing anti-virus software. Despite these techniques, in the United States alone, there was a total loss of $18.7 billion, which shows just how dangerous the online world can be.

That’s why we wanted to find out the states and countries that are most at risk from cybercrime, as well as the states which have lost the most money to cybercrime. We also wanted to find out which types of cybercrime were the most common.

We’ve calculated the number of victims per 100,000 people to find out the U.S. states that are most at risk of cybercrime.

1. Nevada—556 victims of cybercrime per 100,000

In first place, with twice as many victims as any other state, is Nevada with 556 victims per 100,000 of the population. Nevada had a total of 17,706 victims of cybercrime during the 2021 year, which was the sixth highest out of all the U.S. states.

2. Iowa—275 victims of cybercrime per 100,00

In second place is Iowa, with 275 victims of cybercrime per 100,000 people in the state. The population in Iowa is actually marginally higher than in Nevada, however, Iowa’s total of 8,853 victims is less than half of that in Nevada.

3. Alaska—242 victims of cybercrime per 100,000

Completing our top three, with 242 victims of cybercrime per 100,000, is Alaska. There were a total of 1,787 cases of cybercrime in Alaska, which was almost 10 times smaller than Nevada in first place. However, Alaska has one of the smallest populations in the U.S. which explains its high ranking.

Most Common Types of Cyber Crime in the US

Cybercrime comes in all different forms. That’s why we wanted to find out the types of cybercrime that are most prevalent in the U.S.

1. Phishing/Vishing/Smishing/Pharming - 323,972 victims

Four different types of cybercrime take first place here, however, all four types of cybercrime have the same objective. Phishing is a form of cybercrime that encourages you to reveal personal and sensitive information, through a fraudulent message. Vishing is the same but through phone calls, smishing is through social media, and pharming is directing you to a fake website that will install a virus onto your device. There were 323,972 victims of these cyber attacks, who lost a combined total of $44 million.

2. Non-Payment/Non-Delivery - 82,478 victims

In second place, with 82,478 victims, is non-payment/non-delivery scams. This is where you either buy a product from a fraudulent seller, for the product not to be delivered, or you sell and deliver a product, only to not receive payment. Despite fewer victims, $337m was lost through these scams.

Personal data breaches complete our top three, with almost 52,000 victims during 2021. Personal data breaches include someone going into a device, such as a phone or a computer, and accessing sensitive information without your permission. Out of our top three, personal data breaches were the most costly, with a combined loss of $517m.

States That Have Lost the Most Money to Cyber Crime

Cybercrime can often cost you a lot of money. That’s why we’ve looked at the combined amount lost from each state as a result of cybercrime.

1. California—$1.23 billion lost from cybercrime

California takes the top spot, with twice as much lost from cybercrime than any other state. More than $1.2 billion was lost due to cybercrime, in the state of California, where there were 67,000 victims. This equates to an average loss per victim of just over $18,000.

2. Texas—$606.2 million lost from cybercrime

In second place is Texas, with over $606 million lost from cybercrime in 2021. There were a total of 41,148 victims of cybercrime in Texas in 2021, which was the third highest on our list. This averages to $14,000 lost per victim in Texas.

3. New York—$560 million lost from cybercrime

New York completes our top three with a combined loss of just under $560 million. New York had a total of 29,065 victims in 2021. This averages to $19,000 lost per victim of cybercrime.

States That Have Lost the Most per Victim

We’ve looked at the amount lost and the number of victims in each state to find out which states are losing the most money on average.

1. North Dakota—$31,642 lost per victim

North Dakota takes first place by some distance. On average, North Dakota lost over $30,000 per victim, $12,000 more than any other state. North Dakota had just 670 victims in 2021, but $21.2 million was lost.

New York takes second place, losing $19,267 per victim of cybercrime. New York lost the third-highest amount out of all states in the U.S. losing a total of $560 million. New York also had the fourth-highest number of victims.

3. South Dakota—$19,032 lost per victim

In third place, losing just over $19,000 per victim of cybercrime, is South Dakota. South Dakota just beats California, the state with the highest total loss and number of victims, to fourth place. South Dakota had a total of $18 million lost, which was shared between 951 people.

Cybercrime happens all over the world. That’s why we wanted to find out the prevalence of cybercrime across the world. We’ve calculated the rate per 100,000 in each country to find out where cybercrime is happening the most.

1. United Kingdom—450 victims of cybercrime per 100,000

The country most at risk of cybercrime is the United Kingdom, with 450 victims of cybercrime per 100,000 people. The UK had the second-highest number of victims out of all the countries on our list and more than three times as many victims per 100,000 people than any other country.

2. United States—138 victims of cybercrime per 100,000

The US takes second place with 138 victims of cybercrime per 100,000 people. The US had the highest number of victims on our list at 466,501, and the third-highest population. Despite being far off the UK’s number, the US is comfortably in third, with more than nine times as many as third place.

3. Canada—15 victims of cybercrime per 100,000

Completing our top three is Canada, with a total of 15 victims of cybercrime per 100,000 people. Canada had the third-highest number of victims on our list, with 5,788, which is far from the figures for the UK and the US.

To calculate the loss per victim, we simply divided the amount lost by the number of victims.

To calculate the number of victims per 100,000 people, we divided the population by the number of victims and multiplied that figure by 100,000.

USA Cyber Crime Hotspots

There is probably more information stored on your computer than you realize. Your bank details, address, and date of birth have all been inputted into a computer at some point in your life. As scary as it may sound, this information presents a number of opportunities for hackers.

There are numerous ways you can stay safe online, creating strong unique passwords, using a 

, and installing antivirus software can help you feel secure when you’re browsing the internet.

However, this may not stop hackers from trying to get your valuable information. Employees and employers are targeted every day, all around the world. That’s why, here at Proxyrack, we wanted to find out the average cost of a data breach.

As well as looking at which countries experience the most data breaches, we’ve looked at the average cost of a data breach in countries and industries, as well as how the cost is affected by the number of remote workers to show you the financial damage these data breaches can cause.

The Countries Losing The Most Money to Data Breaches

Data breaches happen all over the world. That’s why we wanted to find where in the world they were the most costly.

1. United States - $9 million average cost of a data breach

Data breaches in the United States were the most expensive, with an average cost of $9 million. Data breaches in the US cost just over $2 million more than any other country on our list.

2. Middle East - $6.93 million average cost of a data breach

Data breaches in the Middle East are the second most costly in our list. A data breach here costs, on average, $6.93 million. The Middle East is made up of a number of different countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

3. Canada - $5.4 million average cost of a data breach

Canada completes our top three with the average cost of a data breach costing $5.4 million. Canada’s average cost of a data breach has increased by $900,000 since 2020, which is the equivalent of 20%.

The Industries Losing The Most Money to Data Breaches

For hackers, some industries will be more lucrative than others. So we found out which industries had the highest cost of a data breach.

1. Healthcare - $9.23 million average cost of a data breach

Data breaches in the healthcare industry were the most expensive with an average cost of $9.23 million. A data breach in the healthcare industry was almost $4 million more expensive than any other industry.

2. Financial - $5.72 million average cost of a data breach

The financial industry was the second most expensive, with the average cost of a data breach costing $5.72 million. The average cost of a data breach has actually decreased since 2020, going from $5.85 million to $5.72 million.

3. Pharmaceuticals - $5.04 million average cost of a data breach

Data breaches in the pharmaceutical industry complete our top three, with the average cost of a data breach sitting at just over $5 million. The average cost of a pharmaceutical data breach has narrowly decreased since 2020 when it was $5.06 million.

The Effects of Remote Working on Data Breaches

With more and more employees choosing to work from home, we wanted to find out how the percentage of remote employees affects the cost of a data breach.

Data breaches to companies with the highest percentage of remote employees were the most costly in 2021. For companies with 81% to 100% of remote employees, the average cost of a data breach was just over $5.5 million.

Companies with 61% to 80% of remote employees experienced the second-highest cost of a data breach. Between this range, the average cost of a data breach was just under $4.4 million.

At the other end of the spectrum, companies with just 10% to 20% of remote workers experienced the third-highest average data breach cost. Between 10% and 20%, data breaches cost, on average, $4.21 million.

The Countries Most Commonly Targeted by Data Breaches

1. United States - 7,221,177 breaches per 1 million people

The United States takes first place with over seven million breaches per million people. A total of 2.4 billion breaches have happened in the US, with 30 million happening in 2022, and 452 million happening in the last three years.

2. France - 6,488,574 breaches per 1 million people

In second place is France, with almost 6.5 million breaches per million people. France had a total of 419 million data breaches, almost 16 million of these came in 2022, with 66 million of France’s total coming in the last three years.

3. South Sudan - 6,184,061 breaches per 1 million people

Completing our top three is South Sudan with over 6 million breaches per 1 million people. South Sudan had almost 67.5 million breaches in total, with 10 million of these coming in the last three years. 1 million of these came in 2022 alone.

’ to find out the average cost of a data breach for countries, industries, and the percentage of remote workers.

 to find out the total number of breaches for each country. This data was accurate from 07.11.2022.

To calculate the breaches per 1 million people, we used 

 to get the population. Countries with fewer than 1 million people were removed.

Cost of a Data Breach

The social media sites with the highest number of data breaches

Currently, we are very much in an age of social media, it informs many of the decisions we make and serves as a source of information and social interaction. It also serves as a platform to share news, voice opinions, and create varying types of content, locally and worldwide.

However, our reliance on social media could also be perceived as a liability. As everyone knows, when you make accounts, you usually have to put in various amounts of information, some of it rather personal. And, especially where social media platforms are concerned, data leaks are a somewhat regular occurrence. However, there are ways to better protect yourself, such as our  

, to obscure your IP address whilst you’re online.

We reveal which sites have had the most data breaches, which one’s affected the most users, and which sites people are most concerned about scams on.

Social media sites with the most data breaches

Facebook, the one that started it all, well almost. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and owned by Meta, which was formerly Facebook, Inc. this social networking site was one of the founding fathers of social media, so to speak.

However, the site has been caught up in numerous data breaches and scandals. Most famously, there was the Cambridge Analytica data scandal of 2018, which wasn’t strictly a data breach, but it saw Facebook sell the data of 87 million users to Cambridge Analytica. This was not something that users had agreed to. Their first data breach was in 2013, with two others occurring in 2018, amidst the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The year 2019 would prove to be their worst, with a total of four data breaches, each exposing huge numbers of

LinkedIn is a social networking platform with a focus on professional networking, allowing employers to post job advertisements and job seekers to post their CVs. The first record of a data breach on the site occurred in 2012. Initially, the site claimed only 6.5 million accounts were affected, this total was updated in 2016 to approximately 165 million. The site suffered another leak in 2018, where names, work, and personal email addresses, job titles, and individual profile links were scraped, affecting around 66 million users.

Two more breaches happened in 2021, the first in April when public profiles were scraped of their data and later sold online, and the second in June, housing personal and professional data of people's accounts.

Twitter is a micro-blogging and social media network, founded in 2006 and is owned by Twitter, Inc. which previously owned Vine, a similar app to TikTok. In 2022, Elon Musk attempted to buy Twitter for around $44 billion, however, a few months after the offer was accepted, Musk terminated the deal.

In 2016, a group of Russian hackers who had already stolen data from MySpace and LinkedIn stole around 32 million user records from Twitter. Then in 2018, Twitter released a statement to its 330 million users to change their passwords as a glitch in the site's code had temporarily exposed them. The site experienced two more breaches in 2020 and 2022, both on a smaller scale than that of the 2018 glitch.

Yahoo! is an American web services provider that also runs Yahoo! Answers, a social networking service in which your Yahoo! credentials are used to log in. Yahoo! has been around since 1994, that’s a whopping 28 years.

Yahoo! would experience its first data breach in 2012, when an SQL injection attack revealed users' usernames and passwords in plain text format. However, 2013 would see them experience their biggest data breach and one of the biggest data breaches in the world when a group of hackers revealed billions of users' personal data. Yahoo! would experience two more data breaches in 2014 and 2018.

MySpace, launched in 2003, was the precursor to Facebook. They were the first social networking site to reach a global audience, having a huge influence on technology and culture at the time.

However, like Facebook, they have also suffered a few data breaches. In 2008, they had their first and most damaging breach, when approximately 360 million users' data was stolen and later, in 2016, was sold on the web which was when knowledge of the breach became public. A hack by a Russian group in 2013, exposed similar amounts of data and again, the knowledge of this breach was immediately made public.

Social media sites that lost the most user data

Total Number of Users Affected by Data Breaches: 3,502,910,847

Yahoo! comes out on top, with its total number of users affected is over 3.5 billion. The majority of this figure is made up of the 2013 breach, which was initially thought to have exposed 1 billion users' data. This breach was first reported in 2016, during negotiations to sell themselves to Verizon and in 2017 they updated their estimate of users affected to 3 billion. With such a slow response time, it is difficult to see how anyone could trust Yahoo! with any amount of personal data.

Total Number of Users Affected by Data Breaches: 2,108,458,528

Facebook, one of the largest social networking sites of all time has suffered the most data leaks and as a consequence has leaked over 2.1 billion users' data. Their hardest-hitting year was 2019 when they suffered four different data breaches, leaking almost 2 billion users' data. And of course, there was the Cambridge Analytica scandal where Facebook sold user data without the consent of its users.