96% of S&P 500 companies had data breaches – report
Only 6% of S&P 500 companies scored an A for their cybersecurity, a new report by Cybernews shows.
The report shows that 96% of S&P 500 companies had data breaches.
According to the latest Cybernews Business Digital Index analysis, only 6% of S&P 500 companies achieved an A rating, while 89% of analyzed companies scored a D (almost 49%) and F (40%) for their cybersecurity efforts.
The new analysis results reflect weak cybersecurity postures and show that most organizations haven’t raised their security standards.
Detailed data collected from multiple sources, including IOT search engines, IP and Domain name reputation databases, and custom scanners, shows the digital security posture of S&P 500 companies.
Manufacturing and real estate industries are the most vulnerable
According to the Business Digital Index, which grades businesses based on their online security measures, the Manufacturing, Real Estate and Development industries have the weakest digital security.
The biggest S&P 500 category is Manufacturing, with 138 companies on the list. 40% of the scored companies received a D rating, and 53% received an F rating. Only 3% of analyzed organizations earned an A rating for security measures.
The second-biggest category on the list is Finance and Insurance. According to the analysis, 94% of companies analyzed received a security rating of D or worse, with 22% falling into the F category.
A very similar situation exists with companies in the Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals category. Almost 10% of the companies analyzed in this category achieved an A grade. 52% of the healthcare sector scored D and 38% F.
40% of Real Estate and Development category companies received D and 48% F scores. Most (48%) of Retail and Wholesale category companies were rated D, and 38.5% got an F.
The report also shows that almost 86% of companies in the Energy and Natural Resources category analyzed scored a D or worse for their cybersecurity efforts.
The Technology and IT industry has the largest share of A-level security companies (almost 13%). However, 42% of analyzed Technology and IT category companies worldwide scored D, and 39% got a barely passing grade of F.
Data breaches are one of the top issues
Researchers found that the top three issues across industries are data breaches, secure sockets layer (SSL) configuration, and system hosting issues.
Even 96% of all analyzed companies had data breaches. This is an alarming systemic issue, with Real Estate and Development, Finance and Insurance, and Manufacturing leading the way in these incidents.
Nearly every S&P 500 company (almost 98%) suffers from poor SSL practices, reflecting weak encryption standards.
Furthermore, 88.5% of companies have system hosting issues, and this problem is particularly prevalent in the Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (97.6%) sector.
The Manufacturing industry consistently ranks among the highest in vulnerabilities across all categories, particularly in software patching total vulnerabilities (63%), data breaches (97.8%), and SSL configuration issues (100%).
Meanwhile, the least affected industry is Real Estate and Development. This industry has lower incidence rates across categories, such as software patching critical vulnerabilities (16%) and web application security issues (48%).
Research Methodology
The Cybernews research team analyzed 485 companies on the S&P 500 list. Fifteen companies could not be analyzed to evaluate an organization's cybersecurity posture.
The report evaluates risk across seven key areas: software patching, web application security, email security, system reputation, SSL Configuration, system hosting, and data breach history. The report’s Methodology is here.
About Business Digital Index
The Business Digital Index (BDI) is a new initiative by Cybernews designed to evaluate the cybersecurity health of organizations worldwide. BDI aims to help businesses by providing a clear, transparent, and independent assessment of their cyber security management. In this way, the index contributes to a more resilient digital future.
By leveraging data from reputable sources—such as IoT search engines, IP and domain reputation databases, and custom security scans—the BDI comprehensively assesses a company’s cybersecurity strength.
The index evaluates risks across seven critical areas: software updates, web security, email protection, system reputation, SSL setup, system hosting, and data breach history.