Big Data Breaches
The Equifax data breach of 2017 was still grabbing headlines in 2019, but unfortunately, the trend of big data breaches only intensified. Some of the statistics of 2019 are staggering. Consider these statistics for the first half of the year:
- 3,800: The number of publicly disclosed breaches.
- 4.1 billion: The number of records exposed.
- +54%: Increase in the number of reported breaches vs. first six months of 2018.
Outside of the more notable data breaches such as the third-party Facebook apps exposing 540 million records and DoorDash exposing almost 5 million customers, employees, and merchant private information, Norton.com listed some of the larger breaches in 2019 that you may not have heard about.
Capital One
Date: March 22 and 23, 2019
Number of records breached: 106 million
Evite
Date: February 22, 2019
Number of records breached: 100 million
Georgia Tech
Date: December 14, 2018, to March 22, 2019
Number of records breached: 1.3 million
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Date: The Office of the Inspector General issued its findings on March 15, 2019
Number of records exposed: 2.3 million
Hackers and cybercriminals are targeting data. Both large and small companies need to view data the way financial institutions view currency.