Which of the following is the MOST common contributor to cybersecurity breaches?

The correct answer is B. Human error. Human error is consistently identified as the most common contributor to cybersecurity breaches across major industry reports (e.g., Verizon DBIR, IBM X-Force). Human error encompasses a wide range of behaviors including falling for phishing attacks, misconfiguring systems…

Submitted by packet_pusher· Apr 18, 2026Information Security Risk Management

Question

Options

ALack of adequate password rotation
BHuman error
CAbuse of privileged accounts
DLack of control baselines

How the community answered

(26 responses)

A
4% (1)
B
92% (24)
C
4% (1)

Explanation

Human error is consistently identified as the most common contributor to cybersecurity breaches across major industry reports (e.g., Verizon DBIR, IBM X-Force). Human error encompasses a wide range of behaviors including falling for phishing attacks, misconfiguring systems, accidentally exposing data, using weak credentials, and mishandling sensitive information. Option A (inadequate password rotation) is a specific control gap that falls under the broader human error category. Option C (abuse of privileged accounts) is a significant threat but less common in frequency than general human error. Option D (lack of control baselines) is an organizational governance gap, not the most common direct cause of breaches.

Topics

#Cybersecurity breaches#Human error#Breach causes#Threat vectors

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