Data breaches have always wreaked havoc on unsuspecting families. Even if you browse the internet safely and use only trusted sites, those trusted sites could potentially have data leaks leading to malicious hackers getting a hold of your data.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2021 Data Breach Report, there were 1,862 data breaches last year, surpassing both 2020’s total of 1,108 and the previous record of 1,506 set in 2017. The percentage of breaches that involved sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, rose slightly to 83 percent from 80 percent the year before but remained significantly below 2017’s record of 95 percent.

On the upside, the number of people affected by the data breaches edged down about 5 percent last year to 294 million. But ITRC attributed the decline to a shift in the focus of cybercriminals toward smaller, more focused attacks, rather than massive data theft. 

The center also noted that attacks involving ransomware have doubled in each of the past two years, representing 22 percent of the total number of reported cyberattacks in 2021. At this rate of growth, ITRC said ransomware will surpass phishing as the top cause of data breaches this year. Ransomware is when an attacker restricts your computer requiring you to pay. If you refuse to pay, normally attackers delete or sell data off of your computer.

Ransomware has been a pretty hot topic during 2022. With even the US military actions against it. According to The White House, “Ransomware incidents have disrupted critical services and businesses worldwide – schools, banks, government offices, emergency services, hospitals, energy companies, transportation, and food companies have all been affected. Ransomware attackers have targeted organizations of all sizes, regardless of where they are located. The global economic losses from ransomware are significant. Ransomware payments reached over $400 million globally in 2020, and topped $81 million in the first quarter of 2021, illustrating the financially driven nature of these activities.”

With the increase in data breaches, it is important to practice data safety. Always make sure to avoid giving information to suspicious links and always make sure to check the link even if a site looks familiar.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/record-number-of-data-breaches-reported-in-2021-new-report-says/