The number of data breaches tracked in 2014 hit a record high of 783, according to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center, sponsored by IDT911. This represents a 27.5-percent increase over the number of breaches reported in 2013, and an increase of 18.3 percent over the previous high of 662 breaches tracked in 2010.
Sixty-one percent of Americans believethat their data is not secure, according to a survey from PKWARE. Theft of financial and identity information causes the most concern among respondents, with the leading data at risk cited as Social Security numbers and banking information, including credit cards.
The 21st Century is often referred to as the information age; the developing global marketplace has contributed to the entrance of new cultures and economies into the competitive global economy. Due to globally available infrastructure and the development of global telecommunication/computing capabilities, it has enabled individuals, companies and countries to compete globally on a level playing field with traditional Western powers even from some of the most remote parts of the world. Unfortunately this has also created conditions in which the threat of corporate espionage has been rapidly proliferating due to the ease threat actors can ply their trade both through physical and virtual actions against U.S. corporations.
Coca-Cola is facing a potential class-action lawsuit after one of the people whose personal data was on one of a clutch of laptops stolen from the company says he suffered identity theft as a result of the breach.
Only 45 percent of consumers have changed an online password or PIN code in the past year after learning of data breaches; 15 percent made fewer online purchases on mobile devices; and 28 percent shopped less frequently at a retailer that had suffered a data breach.
The U.S. Postal Service is the latest victim in a busy year of data breaches. Data from 750,000 employees and retirees, as well as information from 2.9 million postal service customers, has been affected.
The rise in violent incidents sweeping through our country – and around the world – has organizations across all industries looking for new and more effective ways to control access in order to better protect and secure people and premises. One of the areas most affected by these incidents is the healthcare industry.
Community Health Systems, which operates 206 hospitals around the U.S., announced today that in a recent data breach hackers stole data on 4.5 million patients, including names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdays and telephone numbers. The hackers did not steal information about patients’ medical histories, clinical operations or credit cards.
The IRS failed to do background checks on some private contractors who handled confidential taxpayer information, exposing more than a million taxpayers to an increased risk of fraud and identity theft.
