2026 Verizon DBIR Highlights the Value of Core Cybersecurity Practices

Summary

CIS says the 2026 Verizon DBIR highlights vulnerability exploitation, credential abuse, social engineering, ransomware, and third-party risk, and recommends foundational controls and secure configurations to help defend against them.

Key points

• The article says vulnerability exploitation is now the leading initial access vector and recommends software inventory and continuous vulnerability management.
• Credential abuse appeared in 39% of breaches, according to the article; it points to MFA, account management, access controls, and secure configurations as defenses.
• The article reports that 62% of breaches involved a human element and recommends security awareness and skills training.
• It says ransomware is increasing and highlights data recovery as a way to restore operations without paying a ransom.
• Breaches involving third parties increased 60% from the 2025 DBIR; suggested measures include MFA, removing inactive accounts, and embedding security practices in vendor contracts.
• The article notes that 83% of privilege-escalation incidents did not involve vulnerability exploitation, emphasizing misconfigurations, excessive permissions, and credential abuse.
• CIS recommends its Benchmarks for secure configurations and consistent implementation of its Controls as foundational security practices.

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