Kaspersky Report Reveals 6-Year Low in High-Severity Cyber Incidents Amid Surge in Managed Detection Adoption
Kaspersky’s latest ‘Anatomy of a Cyber World’ report highlights a significant decline in high-severity cyber incidents, reaching a low of 3.8% in 2025 compared to 14.3% in 2021. This trend underscores a major advancement in early detection and mitigation strategies. High-severity incidents—defined by direct human involvement and significant infrastructure impact—decreased by 19% year-on-year, primarily due to the effectiveness of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) experts in containing threats before they escalate.
The 2025 analysis identifies human-driven attacks (23%) and Red Teaming exercises (23%) as the top drivers of high-severity alerts. Despite the rise of automation, motivated adversaries continue to target nearly 21% of organizations, emphasizing the persistent need for expert-led monitoring. "The decline in severity highlights the critical importance of a proactive strategy," says Sergey Soldatov, Head of Security Operations at Kaspersky. He notes that while automated tools like XDR are vital for visibility, human-led solutions remain the only effective defense against highly skilled, human-driven threats.