Data Breaches in the US

2019 Data Breach Statistics in the US

It's no secret that as technology rapidly expands and digitalization takes over, so too do the methods of thieves and hackers. These days it seems like every week we hear about a large organization being hacked and customer data being compromised. But even though the news reports large breaches, smaller ones happen all the time that may not be as widely publicized. Although a large company like Google or Yahoo! can financially withstand the impact of a large-scale hack, it will more greatly affect a small business. It's important to be aware of how common data breaches are and to highlight some statistics to recognize the importance of proper data retention schedules and practicing frequent confidential document destruction. Here are some quick facts:

• Since 2013, nearly 10 billion data records have been lost or stolen. Only 4% of those were deemed "secure breaches", meaning the stolen data was unusable due to security measures.
  
• 2017 was the biggest year in history (thus far) regarding data breaches. More than 7 million records were lost or stolen every day that year.
  
• 86% of the world's reported data breaches in 2017 took place in the US.
  
• The average cost of a data breach in the US is $7.34 million.
  

10 Largest Data Breaches in History

1. Yahoo! (2014): 3 billion user accounts
   
2. Adult Friend Finder (2016): 412 million user accounts
   
3. eBay (2014): 145 million user accounts compromised
   
4. Equifax (2017): 143 million people's social security numbers, driver's licenses, addresses and credit cards were exposed
   
5. Heartland Payment Systems (2008): 134 million credit cards exposed
   
6. Target (2013): Credit card info and contact info of 110 million customers compromised
   
7. TJX Companies (2006): 94 million credit cards stolen
   
8. Uber (2016): Personal info of 57 million users and 600,000 drivers exposed
   
9. JP Morgan Chase (2014): 76 million households and 7 million small businesses had their personal info stolen
   
10. Sony's Playstation Network (2011): 77 million PSN users had their account details stolen/compromised ​