Verizon's 2014 Data Breach Investigations Report, obtained early by FedScoop, identified nine overall threat patterns by collating 10 years of data, and Verizon researchers have now mapped those specific threat patterns to specific industries. One of the most problematic trends identified in the report was the significant increase in the number of external hacker threats now faced by organizations. "The number of internal and partner actors has stayed steady, and external actors have been increasing year over year," says Stephen Brannon, a principal with the Verizon Risk Team. He also mentioned that the speed of attackers far outpaces that of defenders, and the gap is widening. Also, the percentage of organizations that are able to detect incidents on their own without relying on third-party researchers and contractors is falling, FedScoop reports. Contrary to popular media, however, point-of-sale attacks are actually trending downward, a continued move since 2011.