- 2.2 million British accounts have been violated in the first three months of 2025 alone
- The United Kingdom was the sixth most affected country worldwide, behind the United States, Russia, India, Germany and Spain.
- Despite this, the latest data show a considerable touch in data violation incidents worldwide
An average of 17 British accounts was violated every minute in 2025 so far, a total of 2.2 million accounts filtered in the United Kingdom during the first three months of the year. This toll makes the United Kingdom the sixth most affected country around the world after the United States, Russia, India, Germany and Spain.
These are the main findings from Surfshark’s quarterly update about its global data violation analysis.
However, experts report a considerable touch on data violation incidents worldwide compared to last year’s increase. In the United Kingdom, data violations decreased this year so far by 49% compared to the last three months of 2024.
Worldwide, the latest data show an amazing 93%drop, from a total of 973.7 million to 68.3 million leaked accounts.
“Although the number of vulnerable accounts in all the main regions decreased in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, people should remain attentive,” said Luís Costa, research leadership in Surfshark.
Surfshark has registered a total of 1.2B personal records set out in the United Kingdom since 2004. This includes 79.2 million unique emails and 238.4 million passwords.
However, the United States was the most affected nation worldwide, with 16.9 million accounts violated in 2025 so far. Russia continues 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 ten most violated countries during the first three months of 2025.
How to protect your violation data
Despite the global recession, data violations and cyber attacks do not seem to disappear in the short term.
That is why, whether it is based on the United Kingdom or any other directed country, you must take some measures to ensure your online data against this threat.
“Cybercrions continue to evolve and the attackers are constantly adapting their tactics,” Costa said.
Then he suggests following strong security practices at all times and regularly updating his passwords. A password administrator tool is very useful to help you find unique combinations and keep up to the safety of your accounts with a couple of clicks.
Costa also recommends enable 2FA, add a second security layer to your account by requiring another verification beyond your password. This means that even if your password is filtered, your account must remain safe.
He must also be attentive when he is online so as not to be a victim of Phishing’s scams. While some virtual private network (VPN) tools and email safe services have functions to help you stay away from these dangers, refrain from clicking on doubtful links remains the best way to stay safe.
