According to the Breach Level Index, the total number of data
records lost or stolen in just the first half of 2016 was
554,454,942, stemming from 974 breach incidents. In the entire year
of 2015, there were 707.5 million data records compromised. Over
one billion Yahoo accounts were compromised in August 2013, the
single largest breach in history.
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has brought 60
cases relating to data security since 2000. The pace at which these
cases have been brought is increasing. While the perception may be
that smaller companies with less data have less to worry about by
way of data breaches because they have "little" client
data, or "only" employee data, this is misguided. An
estimated 62% of all cyber breaches occur in small and mid-market
companies. The primary causes of data breaches are employee or
contractor mistakes, such as stolen and lost laptops, and
procedural error.
