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Introducing ThreatWatch: A New Way to Explore the Evolving World of Cyber Dangers

A new way to track the evolving threats in cyberspace. By Aliya Sternstein

Welcome to the World Wide Web of threats. Nextgov's new feature, ThreatWatch, is a regularly updated catalog of data breaches successfully striking every sector of the globe, as reported by journalists, researchers and the victims themselves. 

The accompanying map you see illustrates attempted hacks worldwide, in real-time. The dots represent devices distributing malicious software programs that may or may not breach their targets. At the bottom of the page, I've tried to highlight divergent views on the gravity of the cyber threat, with tweets from skeptics, public service announcements from federal agencies, and relatively unbiased newsfeeds. 

While many organizations, including the U.S. government, are reluctant to fess up to weak security, increasingly they are disclosing more to, among other things, help others avoid similar incidents, build trust and comply with privacy rules. 

The samples show trends in how fast infiltrations are detected, how quickly affected individuals are notified, and the types of tricks attackers are using. The suspected perpetrators might surprise you.  As of this writing, there are more internal employees than Chinese-sponsored hackers responsible for data compromises.

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