SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Identity Theft Resource Center recently released a report that showed the total number of breaches on its breach list so far for 2008 has surpassed the final total breaches reported for all of 2007.
At the end of 2007, the Identity Theft Resource Center had 446 reports on its list. As of Aug. 22, the number of confirmed data breaches in 2008 had reached 449, with four months still left in the year.
Tom Harkins, chief strategy officer for Secure Identity Systems, said that in actuality the number of data breaches is probably much greater than 449.
"I think that underreporting has been going on for years and that this is really just the tip of the iceberg. Criminals have gotten so good at stealing data that many institutions don't even know it occurs."
Identity Theft Resources stated that the increase in breaches can no longer be attributed to required reporting laws and media investigative work. Harkins agreed with this statement and said that with the current laws in place the playing field is leveled and the increase is a result of hacking and criminal activity.
"What this shows is that this is a big problem that is getting worse and credit unions need to address it and be aware of it," Harkins said. He said that the number of breach reports may double or triple next year."No one is addressing the problem so it's just getting worse."
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