Data breaches grow 15% sequentially in 1H16

Global data breaches increased 15% sequentially in the first half of 2016 to 974, with the number of compromised data records growing by 120 million to 554 million, according to Gemalto.

The digital security company’s latest Breach Level Index also shows that identity and personal data theft accounted for 64% of all data breaches.

In more than half (52%) of cases of data breaches, the initial disclosure did not divulge the number of compromised records.

Malicious insiders were the top source of data breaches, accounting for 69% of incidents, a substantial increase from 56% during the second half of 2015.

“Over the past 12 months hackers have continued to go after both low-hanging fruit and unprotected sensitive personal data that can be used to steal identities,” Gemalto VP and CTO for Data Protection Jason Hart said.

“The theft of user names and account affiliation may be irritating for consumers, but the failure of organisations to protect sensitive personal information and identities is a growing problem that will have implications for consumer confidence in the digital services and companies they entrust with their personal data.”

Health care was the most heavily targeted industry, comprising 27% of data breaches. But healthcare records accounted for just 5% of compromised data records.  Government by contrast accounted for just 14% of breaches but 57% of compromised records.

Last year’s high-profile breach of the US Office of Personnel Management databases — which resulted in the theft of personal information of 21.5 million current and former US government employees — demonstrates why data breaches at government agencies can result in a higher haul of compromised records.

“As data breaches continue to grow in frequency and size, it is becoming more difficult for consumers, government regulatory agencies and companies to distinguish between nuisance data breaches and truly impactful mega breaches,” Hart noted.

“News reports fail to make these distinctions, but they are important to understand because each have different consequences. A breach involving 100 million user names is not as severe as a breach of one million accounts with … personally identifiable information that are used for financial gain.”

Image courtesy of Mark Warner under CC