30% of Data Breaches Involve Victims’ Third-Party Suppliers and Vendors

Thirty percent of data breaches that occurred during the year ended Oct. 31 involved a third party, according to Verizon.

That percentage is up from 15% the previous year, the telecommunications company said in its Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report.

The report said third parties such as suppliers, vendors, hosting partners and outsourced IT support providers act as custodians to companies’ data and underpin critical parts of those organizations’ operations.

“While, to some extent, software vendors have long played a part in unintentionally increasing the attack surface for those who use their products and services, over the last two to three years, it has moved from the occasional (and typically minor to moderate) mishap to a much more widespread and insidious problem that can (and sometimes does) have a devastating effect on enterprises,” the report said.

Verizon said in the report that “when you are working with a third party, you have to consider their security limitations as well as your own.” It also recommended that companies include in their planning scenarios the question, “What happens if this partner is attacked?”

The most prominent third-party breach involved Snowflake, according to the report.

As PYMNTS reported in December, the Snowflake data breach snowballed to impact more than 160 of the world’s largest companies, including AT&T, Santander Bank, Advance Auto Parts and Ticketmaster parent company LiveNation.

With third-party software and hardware continuing to be a significant vector for attacks, businesses are adopting stricter supply chain risk management practices.

“Everyone has been dealing with cybersecurity for a long time,” XiFin Chief Financial Officer Erik Sallee told PYMNTS in an interview posted in June. “There’s no way around it other than blocking and tackling, doing the right thing every day keeping all your systems up to date, making sure you’re working with good vendors and investing in it.”

The Verizon report also highlighted two other trends the company saw during the year ended Oct. 31: a 34% increase in attackers exploiting vulnerabilities to gain initial access and cause security breaches and an increase in the presence of ransomware from 32% the previous year to 44%.