09 Mar ID theft growing rapidly in 2009
Identity thefts soared in 2008, and now 2009 is shaping up to be another banner year for phishers, hackers and other ID thieves.
According to a new report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nonprofit set up to support and educate consumers on identity theft, U.S. businesses and other organizations suffered 83 security breaches so far in 2009 — potentially exposing the records of at least 1.1 million people.
That finding, released in a new report (available here in PDF format), signals that the pace of data breaches is only increasing. According to the ITRC, breaches struck 656 businesses, government agencies and other organizations last year, an increase of 47 percent over 2007.
And this year’s number of victims could only grow, ITRC officials said.
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