Ride the Lightning

Data Breaches Drop by 33% in First Half of 2020

July 20, 2020

I am rarely surprised by data breach statistics, but this one took me aback. I would have laid money on breaches increasing. Glad I didn't!

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reported on July 14 that the number of data breaches has dropped by nearly 33% in the first half of 2020 even with the work-from-home movement. With lesser security at home, I think many of us believed that breaches would go up, not down. Moreover, the number of individuals impacted by breaches dropped by 66 percent over the same time period one year ago.

You may recall that in 2019, the Identity Theft Resource Center saw a 17 percent increase in data breaches compared to 2018.

External threat actors continue to account for most successful data compromises (404), compared to internal threats from employees (83) and third-party contractors (53). Internal threat data compromises are the lowest they have been since 2018.

Still, the ITRC believes the reduction in data breaches may be only temporary, explaining that cybercriminals have been using the billions of data points stolen in data breaches during the last five years to execute different types of scams and attacks, which include phishing, credential stuffing and other exploits that require PII. With so much data being consumed and so much focus on improved security, both at work and at home, the available pool of useful data is being reduced.

This leads the ITRC to believe that cybercriminals will have to update their data, which may lead to a return of the normal threat pattern.

In case you didn't know, if someone believes they have had their information exposed as part of a data compromise or is a victim of identity theft due to a data breach, they can live-chat with an ITRC expert advisor. They can also call toll-free at 888.400.5530. Advisors will help victims create action plans that are tailored to them. I don't think most people have any idea that these free resources are available.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com
https://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharondnelson
https://amazon.com/author/sharonnelson