Over 3 million British accounts hacked in first half of 2025, claims Surfshark

Over 3.2 million British user accounts have been compromised in data breaches during the first half of 2025, according to a new study by cybersecurity firm Surfshark.

While there was a notable 58% decrease in leaked accounts in the second quarter compared to the first, the figures remain alarmingly high, with approximately seven British accounts being breached every minute in Q2 alone.

Globally, data breaches saw a significant 34% increase, rising from 70 million to 94 million leaked accounts in the second quarter of 2025. The United States, France, India, Germany and Israel were identified as the most affected countries during this period. The UK ranked seventh globally in Q2 with 944,000 breached accounts, a reduction from the 2.3 million seen in Q1.

Sarunas Sereika, Product Manager at Surfshark, highlighted the pervasive risk in today’s digital landscape. “Today’s digital age requires all of us to share more and more personal information to carry out daily tasks,” Sereika commented.

“Whether sharing your name and address for food deliveries, or phone numbers when making a booking at a barber shop, there is no guarantee that businesses are keeping crucial information safe and secure.”

Sereika warned of the serious repercussions of such breaches. “In the wrong hands, this data can be used to commit identity theft, via social media, for targeted scams or sold on the dark web – where they’re traded for further illegal use.”

Since 2004, Surfshark’s analysis indicates that the UK has been the most affected country in Northern Europe, with a staggering 369.9 million compromised user accounts. This means, statistically, an average British individual has been impacted by data breaches around five times. A concerning 239.3 million passwords were leaked alongside these British accounts, putting 65% of breached users at risk of account takeover, identity theft, extortion, or other cybercrimes.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, experts urge individuals to adopt robust security practices, including using strong and unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication and remaining vigilant against phishing attempts to mitigate the ongoing risk of personal data exposure.

Surfshark’s analysis: https://surfshark.com/research/data-breach-monitoring?country=uk