Cyber Attacks Hit Americans the Hardest in 2023, Says Report

Bad actors target social media and other platforms, penetrating and pilfering data from 300 million accounts worldwide in a disastrous year for cybersecurity.

This photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa, Pa., on Nov. 25, 2023. Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa via AP

Cyberattacks on Americans’ email and other personal accounts are getting markedly worse, and without dramatic upgrades to online security and the disruption of cybercrime networks—many of them state-sponsored—the costliest and deadliest cyberattacks are yet to come, according to a new report on cyber incidents worldwide in 2023.

The news at the end of January that the U.S. government had broken up a far-reaching Chinese hacking operation known as Volt Typhoon has brought wide attention to the severe vulnerability of personal, corporate, and government accounts and data systems, but the full scope of the crisis is still coming to light.