Hacking Greatest Cause of Data Breaches in 2009

We hear it all too often. An employee takes a lap top, or thumb drive with vital information, home and it gets stolen. Or perhaps it was the yet-to-be-released iPhone (sorry, that was too easy) left at a bar? A common scenario for a data breach, right? Well, not really. Symantec latest Global Internet Security Report reveals that while the largest percentage of data breaches were caused by the physical theft or loss of a device with corporate information, hacking was the greatest cause of data records being exposed in 2009.

The report found that the largest percentage (37 percent) of data breaches that could possibly lead to identity theft were still caused by physical theft or loss, while a growing number were caused by hacking. According to Symantec, 60 percent of the data records exposed were compromised via hacking, up from 22 percent in 2008. Fifteen percent of breaches that could lead to identity theft were caused by hacking, a slight decrease from 2008.

Among vertical analyzed, the financial sector was hit the hardest and accounted for 60 percent of the total identities exposed. A big takeaway is that there was a significant drop in documented vulnerabilities – from 5,491 in 2008 as compared to 4,501 in 2009.

So what can we learn from this report? While it is vital to develop policies for mitigating human error when it comes to lost or stolen lap tops, everyone – especially the financial sector – needs to continually use the most cutting edge solutions to thwart hackers. Is it possible? Yes, it is, and there are solutions for when a breach occurs. Keep in mind that ITAC Sentinel protects your customers and employees from the risk of identity theft in the event of an information security breach – no matter how large or small.