– In 2025, data breaches reached unprecedented levels. According to analyses conducted as part of the 2025 Data Breach Landscape Report, more than 2.6 billion new compromised data records were identified, representing a 23% increase compared to 2024.
– France stands out, appearing to be the European country most affected by these incidents, confirming a worrying trend.
– 27 million computers were infected by infostealers in 2025 (data-stealing software designed to covertly collect sensitive information from a victim’s device and send it to cybercriminals) and, as a result, ended up being freely shared on the dark web.
– The average cost of a data breach in Europe is estimated at around €4 to €5 million.
An increase in the number of data leaks in 2025
In 2025, data leaks reached unprecedented levels. More than 2.6 billion new compromised data records were identified, representing a 23% increase over the previous year. France stands out, appearing to be the European country most affected by these incidents. Several factors may explain this situation. Among them is the existence of a particularly active French-speaking community, driven by technical challenges, the desire to demonstrate skills and seek recognition, beyond mere financial gain.
View of the database section on a cybercriminal sales and sharing platform
Data, the raw material for social engineering cyberattacks
Social engineering is a psychological manipulation technique used to exploit human behaviour (trust, urgency, fear, authority, curiosity) in order to get a person to disclose information, bypass security rules or perform a risky action, often without realising it.
The data exposed is varied, mainly human indicators of compromission (H-IoC): usernames, personal data (identity, telephone number, address), professional data and even financial data. Once exposed, the data becomes prime material for social engineering attacks (phishing, identity theft, etc.), with real-world consequences for organisations and individuals alike: financial losses, damage to reputation, targeted pressure, and even physical risks. Beyond fraud, data leaks can also be exploited for purposes of interference and influence.
Why personal information is just as important as passwords
One might think that databases resulting from leaks mainly contain usernames and passwords. The reality is more nuanced. The best security practices implemented by many online services have made it possible to better protect password storage, which is now mostly encrypted and therefore difficult to exploit when obtained directly from hacked databases.
However, cybercriminals’ interest in passwords has not disappeared. Quite the contrary: we have never seen so many plaintext passwords circulated on cybercriminal platforms. In 2025, 1.35 billion plaintext credentials were compromised. This trend cannot be explained by traditional database leaks, but rather by the widespread use of infostealers, malicious software capable of stealing information stored directly in victims’ browsers.
While the appeal of passwords has not disappeared, the value of personal data such as postal addresses, telephone numbers and dates of birth continues to grow.
According to ANOZR WAY’s observations, this is due to the development of new types of fraud, which rely not only on access to a victim’s account but also on additional data to enable better targeting and thus gain credibility.
Announcement of the sale of a French database on the dark web
Exploitation of leaked data over time
Once again this year, many data leaks presented as ‘new’ are in fact data that has already been compromised in the past. Some cybercriminals claim to have access to previously unseen databases, but these claims must be analysed with caution: in most cases, these are data sets that have reappeared, sometimes enriched, restructured or simply put back into circulation.
Data stolen once can thus be exploited years later, especially when passwords have not been changed or the information remains valid. Above all, this data is frequently used as a starting point for new cyberattacks: targeted phishing campaigns, fraud, account compromises or rebound attacks on other organisations. The risk therefore does not disappear with the initial incident: an inadequately addressed leak has a snowball effect, prolonging and amplifying its human, reputational and financial impacts over time.
How to limit data leaks
However, data leaks are partly preventable. Assessing employees’ risks in order to prioritise efforts, correct and reduce their digital footprint, and raise awareness in a personalised manner is now the first line of defence.
What to expect for 2026?
"The apparent ease of hacking databases belonging to major French services acts as an accelerator. It attracts new players and pushes established groups to go further. The phenomenal amount of leaked French data fuels the creation of powerful illegal search tools, capable of aggregating all known information about an individual from a simple email or telephone number. At the same time, the widespread availability of physical addresses paves the way for hybrid threats, combining digital attacks with physical risks: fake delivery scam, targeted burglaries, intimidation." Philippe LUC, CEO of ANOZR WAY.
Given the scale of the phenomenon and the volume of information stolen in 2025, all indications are that data leaks will continue and increase.
