2021 was a Record Breaking Year for Data Breaches

According to a new report by the Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2021 Data Breach Report, data breaches rose 68% in 2021 to a new all-time high.  The report announces that there were 1,862 data breaches in 2021. This surpasses 2020’s total of 1,108 – and also breaks the previous record of 1,506 in 2017.

The numbers are indicative of a year that had several high-profile cyberattacks that targeted everything from the country’s largest oil pipeline to organizations housing the personal information of millions of American consumers.

The number of breaches are “alarming” according to Eva Velasquez, ITRC’s president and CEO.

“There is no reason to believe the level of data compromises will suddenly decline in 2022. As organizations of all sizes struggle to defend the data they hold, it is essential that everyone practice good cyber hygiene to protect themselves and their loves ones from these crimes” Velasquez warns.

The percentage of breaches that involved sensitive information, such as social security numbers, rose to 83 percent this year, but remained below 2017’s record of 95 percent.

The number of people affected by 2021’s attacks decreased to about 294 million people. The ITRC attributes the decline of those affected despite the record number of attacks to the fact that cyber criminals concentrated on smaller, more focused attacks rather than larger massive data theft.

Another interesting fact in the report noted that ransomware attacks doubled in each of the past two years. In 2021, ransomware attacks accounted for 22 percent of all breaches. At this rate, the ITRC said that ransomware would likely surpass phishing scams as the top cause of data breaches.

By sector, the number of breaches increased in all areas except the military – who reported zero attacks. Manufacturing and utilities reports the biggest increased, where attacks were reported to have doubled.

Story via Cnet.com