U.S.: Data breach increased rapidly in 2021

U.S.: Data breach increased rapidly in 2021

Washington, Feb. 2, 2022

According to a report from the Identity Resource Theft Center (IRTC), the number of data breaches in the U.S. increased 68% in 2021 to a record 1,862, eclipsing the previous record of 1,506 set in 2017.

The number of individuals affected by data breaches dropped 5% year-over-year to 294 million. According to the IRTC, this was due to hackers conducting targeted attacks rather than stealing large amounts of data.

The IRTC expects ransomware to replace phishing as the cause of data breaches this year. Sensitive data was compromised in 83% of breaches, up from 80% in 2020 but down from 95% in 2017.

The report is available here .