Key findings from the Verizon DBIR 2026: Slower vulnerability remediation meets faster exploitation

The 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) reveals a troubling trend: vulnerability exploitation has surged to become the number one initial access vector while remediation rates have worsened. Key takeaways Vulnerability exploitation has surged to become the leading initial access vector for breaches, accounting for 31% of data breaches during the study period. Security teams’ patching efforts are falling further behind, with the median time-to-patch growing by 11 days in the pas