Reported data breaches running 20.5% higher than in 2013: Report

The number of data breaches so far this year, at 411, is a 20.5% increase over the same time period last year, says the Identity Theft Resource Center, in a report issued Wednesday.

The latest report by the San Diego-based center says as of Tuesday, health care breaches continued to account for the largest percentage of the overall breaches, at 44.5%, or 183 breaches, although they accounted for only 17% of the compromised records. Health care breaches also accounted for the largest number of breaches in last month’s report by the center.

The report says the business sector, with 33.5% of the breaches, continues to represent close to 60% of the compromised records, while the government/military sector ranks third on the list, with 47 breaches, or 14.1% of the compromised records.

There have been 177 breaches year-to-date involving social security numbers, while 57 are identified as involving credit and debit cards.

The report also notes a marked increase in the number of breaches placed in the accidental exposure category for the first half of 2014. These represented 15.3% of the total breaches, up from 7.3% for the comparable period in 2013.

The center’s report is based on a compilation of data breaches confirmed by various media sources and/or notification lists from state governmental agencies.