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Techdata breaches

Hackers had a banner year in 2019

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 28, 2020, 11:15 AM ET

Hackers were working a lot harder in 2019, but they weren’t as productive as they were the year before.

A new report from the Identity Theft Resource Center finds that there were 1,473 data breaches last year, a 17% increase over 2018’s 1,257. The total number of sensitive records exposed, though was down 65%.

That discrepancy can be tied to a single 2018 hack: the breach of Marriott that exposed 383 million records.

“The increase in the number of data breaches during 2019, while not surprising, is a serious issue,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “The 2019 reporting year sees a return to the pattern of the ever-increasing number of breaches and volume of records exposed.”

While hacking is the most common form of data breaches (covering 39% of those that occurred in 2019 and 81% of the sensitive records that were exposed), it’s not the only way data gets out. “Unauthorized access,” a blanket term that doesn’t clarify exactly how the breach took place, was responsible for 36.5% of breaches.

Since 2005, there have been more than 10,000 data breaches that were publicly announced. That milestone was crossed last summer, says the Center.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—The long ocean voyage that helped find the flaws in GPS
—Atari-themed hotel deal punctuates the gaming pioneer’s turnaround
—Into the ‘crucible’: How the government responds when GPS goes down
—This tech giant says A.I. has already helped it save $1 billion
—What is tech doing to protect the whistleblower’s identity? Not much

Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.

About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

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