2.6 Billion Data Records Compromised in 2017, Gemalto Reports

2.6 Billion Data Records Compromised in 2017, Gemalto Reports

Gemalto released on April 11 its latest Breach Level Index report, revealing that at least 2.6 billion data records were breached or compromised in 2017. The actual number of compromised records, however, could well be higher as Gemalto reported that in 55.9 percent of the data breaches, an unknown number of records were compromised. In addition, the report found that the percentage of data breaches where encryption was used was only 3.1 percent. Breaches in 2017 occurred across multiple industries, but no industry had more breaches than health care. In this slide show, eWEEK takes a look at some of the key highlights of the 2018 Breach Level Index report.

2.6 Billion Records Breached

For 2017, Gemalto reported that a staggering 2,600,968,280 records were breached.

Few Data Breaches Involve Encrypted Records

While data breaches can impact all types of records, only 3.1 percent of data breaches include encrypted data, according to Gemalto.

Malicious Outsiders Are the Top Attackers

Malicious outsiders accounted for 72 percent of data breaches in 2017. In contrast, malicious insiders represented only 9 percent of data breaches.

Accidental Loss Is a Key Source of Breached Records

In terms of the total number of records lost, accidental loss led to a higher volume of data records being compromised than malicious outsiders.

Identity Theft Is Top Type of Data Breach

The majority (69 percent) of data breach incidents in 2017 involved identity theft.

Health Care Is a Top Target

There were more data breaches in the health care industry than any other industry in 2017, according to Gemalto.

It Could Be Worse

While 2.6 billion records have been confirmed as being compromised in 2017, the final tally could be even larger. According to Gemalto, the percentage of breaches where the number of compromised records was unknown was 55.9 percent.