- 2.2 million British accounts were raped in the first three months of 2025 only
- The United Kingdom was the sixth most affected country in the world, behind the United States, Russia, India, Germany and Spain
- Despite this, the latest data show a considerable drop in data violation incidents worldwide
Until now, an average of 17 British accounts have been raped every minute in 2025, totaling 2.2 million accounts disclosed in the United Kingdom in the first three months of the year. This assessment made the United Kingdom the sixth most affected country in the world after the United States, Russia, India, Germany and Spain.
These are the main conclusions from the quarterly surfhark update on its global data violation analysis.
However, experts report a considerable drop in data violation incidents worldwide compared to last year’s overvoltage. In the United Kingdom, data violations have decreased this year so far by 49% compared to the last three months of 2024.
Globally, the latest data shows an astonishing drop of 93%, going from a total of 973.7 million to 68.3 million accounts disclosed.
“Although the number of vulnerable accounts in all large regions has decreased in T1 2025 compared to the previous quarter, people should remain vigilant,” said Luís Costa, being researching in Surfshark.
Surfshark has recorded a total of 1.2 billion personal files exposed to the United Kingdom since 2004. This includes 79.2 million unique emails and 238.4 million passwords.
The United States was the most affected nation in the world, however, with 16.9 million accounts raped in 2025 so far. Russia follows with 4.4 million, then India (4.2 million), Germany (3.9 million) and Spain (2.4 million). France (2.1 million), Canada (0.89 million), Argentina (0.79 million) and South Sudan (0.73 million) are also among the first ten countries most raped in the first three months of 2025.
How to protect your data from violations
Despite the global slowdown, data violations and cyber attacks do not seem to disappear anytime soon.
This is why you are based in the United Kingdom or any other targeted country, you should take measures to secure your data online against this threat.
“Cyber-states continue to evolve and the attackers constantly adapt their tactics,” said Costa.
He then suggests following solid safety practices at any time and updating your passwords regularly. A password management tool is very practical to help you find unique combinations and stay above the security of your accounts in a few clicks.
Costa also recommends activating 2FA, adding a second layer of safety to your account by requiring another verification beyond your password. This means that even if your password is disclosed, your account must remain safe.
You should also be vigilant when you do not thwart phishing scams. While some virtual private network tools (VPN) and secure messaging services offer features to help you stay away from these dangers, refrain from clicking on dubious links remains the best way to stay safe.
