Regardless of where we fall on the crazy-secure to not-so-secure spectrum, the quote above is a good road map to cybersecurity (and life in general). This report aims to take a look at the times when things did not work as intended—not to point fingers but to help us all learn and improve. In a time where almost everyone, corporations and individuals alike, is looking at ways to do more with less, we believe a close analysis of when our defenses failed can be very beneficial. While times of great change are always challenging, they often also prompt us to take stock of our situation and, if necessary, refocus both our viewpoint and our energies. Such is the case with the DBIR this year. As a team, we decided to take a step back toward the fundamental things that got us where we are, an intense focus on actual data breaches analyzed using our own VERIS Framework. And speaking of VERIS, one of the new goodies this refocusing brings is an even better mapping between VERIS and MITRE ATT&CK through a collaboration with MITRE Engenuity and the Center for Threat Informed Defense (CTID).2 It also helps that our parent organization, the Verizon Threat Research Advisory Center (VTRAC),3 shared the most breaches ever for us to analyze. Did you know it is VTRAC’s 20th anniversary this year? Save us a slice of that cake, boss!