SAN DIEGO, April 12 -- Data breaches disclosed at TJX, Department of Veterans Affairs, Chicago Board of Elections, and the University of Idaho are just some of the 76 breaches reported for the period ending April 12, 2007, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). This report was generated by the ITRC's recently-developed breach data base, designed specifically to quantify and track data breaches.
These total breaches, affecting more than 54 million Americans, are categorized into the following areas: Business; Government/Military; Educational; Medical/Healthcare; and Banking/Credit/Financial.
"What sets this breach list apart from others is the ITRC's assessment and evaluation of the potential risk to the personal identifying information," said Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center. "Updated on a weekly basis, this breach list can be used as a reference by anyone to comprehend the depth and breadth of data loss."
In the digital age, the compromising of information continues to grow at an alarming rate. It is important to note, however, that while there may be more breaches being reported, there is also evidence to support the belief that more companies are putting security measures into place to provide better protection of consumer information.
The Identity Theft Resource Center, nationally recognized for its expertise on identity theft, has consistently held the view that both consumers and businesses are the dual victims of identity theft and fraud. The Center believes that support and education of businesses has a major positive impact on the prevention of further identity theft. See ITRC Breach Report 20070412 on their website: idtheftcenter.org/breaches2007.pdf.
