IBM: Cyberattacks down in 2014

Cyberattacks against U.S. retailers declined 50 percent despite several high-profile incidents in 2014, according to studies released by Armonk-based IBM Corp. on Monday.

Increasingly sophisticated hackers may be launching fewer cyberattacks overall but the number of records stolen has risen to an all-time high, according to the studies from an IBM team of analysts that monitors more than 20 billion security incidents a day.

The retail and wholesale industries were the top targets for hackers in 2014, ousting manufacturing, which was for two years the most hacked industry.

Daily cyberattacks were down from 2013, from 4,200 to 3,043 per day, according to IBM. Black Friday and Cyber Monday breaches dropped by 50 percent, the studies said, and hackers were able to secure 61 million records in 2014, compared with 73 million in 2013.

To read the study on retail breaches, click here.