Friday, February 10, 2012

Data Breach Incidents On The Rise Since January

June 30, 2008

The non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center released statistics on Monday showing that the group's data breach count has reached an all-time high. The total number of breaches recorded by the ITRC between Jan. 1 and June 27 was 342 -- more than 69 percent higher than the same time period in 2007. The actual number of breaches is probably larger due to underreporting and the fact that some reported incidents that affect multiple businesses are listed as a single event.

The ITRC breach report sub-divides and tracks all breaches into five categories. The following is a comparison of 2008 (as of June 27) with annual totals from 2007 and 2006.

• Business: 2008- 36.8 percent | 07- 28.9 percent | 06- 21 percent
• Educational: 2008- 21.3 percent | 07- 24.8 percent 06- 28 percent
• Govt/Military: 2008- 17.0 percent | 07- 24.6 percent | 06- 30 percent
• Health/Medical: 2008- 14.9 percent | 07- 14.6 percent | 06- 13 percent
• Banking, finance: 2008- 10 percent | 07- 7 percent | 06- 8 percent

Identity intelligence firm ID Analytics also cooperated with ITRC in its 2007 breach study and found that 39 percent of data exposures in 2007 were related to missing or stolen devices and said the “malicious intent” categories comprised 25 percent of the total data exposure events. ITRC believes that this indicates an increasing awareness by thieves of the monetary value of personal identifying information. Read ITRC's report here.

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Juliana Gruenwald

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Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


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Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.