Spain Places Third On List Of Countries Most Affected By Data Breaches

A recent study revealed that Spain was third on the list of countries most affected by data breaches in the first six months of 2023.

The results were compiled by Surfshark, a company specialising in data-driven research on digital well-being, privacy, cybersecurity and related topics.

According to their research, more than 110 million accounts were affected worldwide so far this year, with Spain being one of the most affected countries.

In the second quarter of this year, the Iberian country reached position number three. That means that there are only two countries that have a higher number of cases. These were Russia and the United States.

Spain was in fifth spot at the start of 2023

At the beginning of the year, Spain was in fifth position, so it has subsequently climbed into the top three in the last three months.

Data leaks have increased 2.6 times in the last three months compared to the first three months of 2023, according to Surfshark.

A total of 43.2 million accounts had been affected up to that point, which means that according to the company’s statistics, there has been an increase of 156 per cent in the second quarter.

Figures in Russia and the US were a lot higher

While rising to third on the list is of course bad news for Spain, it should be noted that Russia and the United States are way ahead when it comes to the number of data breaches.

Specifically, there were 3.7 million leaked accounts registered in Spain at the end of June. During the first quarter, this number was 3.1 million.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the total at the end of the first six months of 2023 was 15.3 million. Previously, it stood at 6.8 million at the end of March. In the US, the total reached a staggering 49.8 million, compared to 5.4 million at the end of the first quarter.

France occupied fourth position on the list with a total of 3.4 million. In the first quarter, there were 3.2 million. Turkey made a huge jump into fifth spot, going from 120,000 in March to 2.8 million in June, according to 20minutos.es.