Cybersecurity risks increase as credential misuse and third-party access drive data breaches

The 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report highlights a growing vulnerability in digital security: the misuse of valid credentials. According to the report, 22% of analyzed breaches involving an identified initial access vector involved the misuse of credentials. Furthermore, third-party involvement in data breaches reached 30%, doubling the proportion recorded the previous year.

Experts warn that having valid passwords and authorized access does not guarantee information protection. Risks often stem from within organizations, such as compromised accounts, employees with excessive permissions, or third parties misusing credentials to access, modify, or extract confidential data.

Alonso Ramírez, regional Cybersecurity Manager at GBM, emphasizes that companies must move beyond simply preventing unauthorized access. He notes that organizations need to monitor who is accessing critical information, what actions they are performing, and whether those behaviors represent a risk, as a valid password alone does not ensure secure activity within a database.