Identity Theft Resource Center Reaches 10,000 Publicly Notified Breaches

ITRC Launches New Blog Series Looking At The Most Impactful Breaches Since 2005

SAN DIEGO, September 5 – For 20 years, the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nationally recognized non-profit established to support victims of identity theft, has worked to empower identity theft victims by providing support and guidance in resolving their cases and educating consumers on ways to minimize their risk of falling victim to identity theft. Since it started recording data breaches in 2005, ITRC has cataloged over 10,000 publicly-noticed breaches.

ITRC’s 2018 End-of-Year Data Breach Report, sponsored by CyberScout, revealed a 126 percent increase in exposed consumer data containing sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) and 1.68 billion consumer records containing non-sensitive PII. Despite fewer breach incidents in 2018 than 2017, there was more consumer data compromised. In its new series, 10,000 Breaches Later, the ITRC looks at what breaches created the most impact – to consumers, to industry professionals and how they changed infrastructure needs.

To bring awareness to the 10,000 data breaches benchmark, ITRC is providing a retrospective on the top breaches for consumers using Breach Clarity, a free tool for consumers impacted by data breaches to understand their risk; benchmark breaches that created systemic change and the most impactful breaches in areas such as the largest retail, business, medical, government, banking and education breaches as part of an eight-part blog series.

“The data we create, collect, store, use and disseminate is increasing at an exponential rate,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “The 10,000-breach milestone is more than just a number; it represents a fundamental shift in how we engage with the world. As important as it is to recognize that 10,000 breaches is an extraordinary number, it is equally important to realize that the unique data points number in the billions. All stakeholders need to behave responsibly with data so we do not achieve the next milestone even more quickly, which we are on pace to do. Consumers must understand how much data they create themselves, and understand their individual risks in order to lessen the chances of self-compromise. Businesses need to evaluate what they are collecting and storing, and be good stewards of that data. Government has an obligation to establish best practices frameworks, reasonable regulation and follow these protocols as well as enforce them.”

In 2018, the business sector had the largest amount of data breaches but the lowest rate of exposure per breach. The health care field had the second-largest amount of breaches and the highest rate of exposure per breach.

https://www.idtheftcenter.org/10000-data-breaches-blog-series/

About the Identity Theft Resource Center®

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity theft in resolving their cases, and to broaden public education and awareness in the understanding of identity theft, data breaches, cybersecurity, scams/fraud, and privacy issues. Through public and private support, ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its call center, website, social media channels, live chat feature and ID Theft Help app. For more information, visit: http://www.idtheftcenter.org

Identity Theft Resource Center

Charity Lacey
VP of Communications
O: 858-634-6390
[email protected]