2017 Data Breaches Hit New High Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 10:42 AM

As reported by CU Today, the number of U.S. data breaches in 2017 hit a new record high of 1,579, according to the 2017 Data Breach Year-End Review released by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and CyberScout.  That's a drastic upturn of 44.7% increase over the record-high figures reported for 2016.

Of the 5 sectors the ITRC tracks, the business category again topped the ITRC’s Data Breach List for the 3rd year in a row with 55% of the overall total number of breaches (870).  This marks the 8th  time since 2005 that the number of breaches for the business sector surpassed all other industries. The medical/healthcare industry followed
in second place with 23.7% of the overall total number of breaches (374). The banking/credit/financial sector rounds out the top three with 8.5% of the overall total (134). This is only the second time since 2005 that the banking/credit/financial sector has ranked in the top three industry categories. The remaining two sectors, educational and government/military, represented 8% and 4.7% respectively.

20% of breaches in businesses included credit and debit card information, a nearly 6% increase from last year. The actual number of records included in these breaches grew by a dramatic 88% over the figures we reported in 2016. Despite efforts from all stakeholders to lessen the value of compromised credit/debit credentials, this information continues to be attractive and lucrative to thieves and hackers.

Read the article in entirety online.