PYMNTS Daily Data Dive: US Data Breaches

According to a report highlighting findings from the Identity Theft Resource Center and CyberScout, data breaches in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2016: 1,093, a 40 percent increase from the year earlier.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The financial services industry accounted for only 52 of the breaches tracked, or 4.8 percent. Business, health care, education, and the government and military were hacked more than the financial services industry.

    For the eighth year in a row, hacking, skimming, and phishing were the main drivers of data breaches, representing 55.5 percent of all reported incidents.

    While consumers and businesses are constantly warned to pay close attention to their email, email breaches only accounted for 9.2 percent of all hacks. Employee error was responsible for 8.7 percent of the hacks.

    In the first six months of 2016, data breaches rose 15 percent, and the number of compromised data records jumped 31 percent compared to the previous six months. Some 64 percent of all data breaches involve identity and personal data theft.

    1,093 | Data breaches tracked by ITRC and CyberScout

    Advertisement: Scroll to Continue

    40 percent | Year-over-year increase in data breaches in the U.S. over 2015

    52 | Number of breaches in the financial services industry

    55.5 percent | Hacking, skimming or phishing incidents

    9.2 percent | Email breaches

    8.7 percent | Employee error

    15 percent | Increase in data breaches in the first half of 2016

    31 percent | Increase in compromised data records in the first half of 2016

    64 percent | Percent of data breaches that involve identity and personal data theft