wildercb/PrivacyTextBooks1.2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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more numerous. What’s worse is that we haven’t reached the peak yet—the
curve just keeps going up, with no end in sight.
Organizations and policymakers can’t be faulted for ignoring the
problem. Over the years, many organizations have dramatically increased
their spending on security. Policymakers have sprung into action, enacting a
myriad of new data security and breach notification laws during the past 15
years. But the problem keeps growing.
It is difficult to fully understand the scope of the problem. Stats on data
breaches differ quite substantially, so it is hard to obtain precise numbers.
Additionally, the metric for measuring the extent of the data breach problem
is unclear. Some commentators point to the number of breaches in a given
year and others point to the number of records breached. Both figures are
subject to some flux and contingency, especially the number of records
breached, because one enormous breach can significantly impact that
number.
Additionally, breaches are often attributed to the year in which they are
announced, but this date often is long after the breach occurred. For
example, the Yahoo breaches occurred in 2013 and 2014 but weren’t fully
reported until 2016 and 2017.
Is there any wisdom to be gleaned from these statistics? Comparisons
from one year to the next have often been made, with each year often being
designated as the worst. Despite the lack of precision in the data, the trend
over time has been clear—a notable increase in the number of breaches and
the number of records breached.1 For example, in 2005, there were 136
reported breaches involving about 55 million records.2 In 2018, there were
668 reported beaches involving about 1.37 billion records. We have yet to
see any signs that this terrible trajectory will improve.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DATA BREACHES
Ever since data breaches started to be reported, the stories have proceeded
in an endless parade of horrors. The unofficial beginning of the data breach
nightmare occurred in 2005 with the announcement of the ChoicePoint
breach. ChoicePoint, a Big Data company that amassed extensive profiles
of personal data on people, was breached when fraudsters masqueraded as
legitimate customers and obtained records on about 162,000 individuals.3
ChoicePoint’s announcement of its breach was one of the first public
disclosures by an organization that it had been infiltrated. Before 2005,
there were certainly many data breaches, but companies weren’t required to
report them, so there isn’t much recorded history. These were akin to
prehistoric times. In 2005, light began to shine on the dark underworld of
data security.
After the announcement of the ChoicePoint breach, several other
companies came forward with their data breaches. Bank of America
announced a breach involving 1.2 million records. DSW, a retailer,
disclosed a hack that compromised 1.4 million records. Citigroup
announced a breach involving 3.9 million records. These breaches seemed
to be large until Card Systems Solutions announced that it had 40 million
records hacked.
Although there were accounts of a few breaches prior to 2005, it wasn’t
until this year that the mainstream news started to focus on data breaches.
California’s breach notification law—and the rapid passage of similar laws
in other states—prompted many organizations to finally air their dirty
laundry. Data breaches finally received public attention. InfoWorld and
other publications proclaimed 2005 to be “The Year of the Data Breach.”4 It
wouldn’t be the last.
In 2006, the average cost of a breach was estimated at exceeding $3
million. As concerns about data breaches mounted, many state lawmakers
were jolted into action and passed breach notification laws.5
The saga continued in 2007. The data economy blossomed. Netflix had
just begun its streaming service, and Apple introduced the iPhone. But the
fraudsters were also having a banner year. According to an article by the
Associated Press: “The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and
Social Security Numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007.”6
A gang of hackers infiltrated the computer system of supermarket chain
Hannaford Brothers and accessed 4.2 million records.7 Retailer TJ Maxx
suffered an enormous breach of credit card information, which was noted at
the time to be the “largest hack ever.” Initial reports pegged the number of
records at 45 million.8 This huge figure was shocking at the time, but
ironically, it was far lower than the actual tally, which was later revised to
94 million. TD Ameritrade’s database of 6.3 million clients was
compromised through malware.9
In 2008, data breaches increased by 47 percent from 2007.10 Bank of
New York Mellon lost a box of back-up tapes with personal data, including
Social Security Numbers. The tapes weren’t encrypted, and 12.5 million
records were compromised. The breach prompted the governor of
Connecticut to declare: “It is simply outrageous that this mountain of
information was not better protected.”11
Forbes awarded 2009 the title of “Year of the Mega Data Breach.”12 The
European Union implemented a data breach notification regime by
amending its e-Privacy directive.13 The largest breach announcement of the
year was a hack of Heartland Payment Systems involving 130 million
records. The breach cost the company more than $200 million dollars, and
its stock dropped by more than 77 percent within a few months of
announcing the breach.14
A breach at software company RockYou exposed user account data of 32
million people. Hackers were thrilled to discover that RockYou stored the
data in plain text without encryption.15
A hacker broke into a database maintained by the state of Virginia to
track prescription drug abuse. The hacker deleted 8 million patient records
and demanded $10 million in ransom to recover them:
I have your [expletive] in my possession, right now, are 8,257,378 patient records and a total
of 35,548,087 prescriptions. Also, I made an encrypted backup and deleted the original.
Unfortunately for Virginia, their backups seem to have gone missing, too. Uhoh :( For $10
million, I will gladly send along the password.16
This incident appears to be an early harbinger of the ransomware epidemic
that would spread exponentially a few years later.
2010 was another gigantic year in data breach history. According to a
report by Experian, data breaches were “happening on a bigger scale and
affecting more consumers than ever.” The report noted that 26 percent of
consumers received a breach notification letter. More than 25 percent of
affected individuals had to replace a debit or credit card.17

more numerous. What’s worse is that we haven’t reached the peak yet—the

curve just keeps going up, with no end in sight.

Organizations and policymakers can’t be faulted for ignoring the

problem. Over the years, many organizations have dramatically increased

their spending on security. Policymakers have sprung into action, enacting a

myriad of new data security and breach notification laws during the past 15

years. But the problem keeps growing.

It is difficult to fully understand the scope of the problem. Stats on data

breaches differ quite substantially, so it is hard to obtain precise numbers.

Additionally, the metric for measuring the extent of the data breach problem

is unclear. Some commentators point to the number of breaches in a given

year and others point to the number of records breached. Both figures are

subject to some flux and contingency, especially the number of records

breached, because one enormous breach can significantly impact that

number.

Additionally, breaches are often attributed to the year in which they are

announced, but this date often is long after the breach occurred. For

example, the Yahoo breaches occurred in 2013 and 2014 but weren’t fully

reported until 2016 and 2017.

Is there any wisdom to be gleaned from these statistics? Comparisons

from one year to the next have often been made, with each year often being

designated as the worst. Despite the lack of precision in the data, the trend

over time has been clear—a notable increase in the number of breaches and

the number of records breached.1 For example, in 2005, there were 136

reported breaches involving about 55 million records.2 In 2018, there were

668 reported beaches involving about 1.37 billion records. We have yet to

see any signs that this terrible trajectory will improve.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DATA BREACHES

Ever since data breaches started to be reported, the stories have proceeded

in an endless parade of horrors. The unofficial beginning of the data breach

nightmare occurred in 2005 with the announcement of the ChoicePoint

breach. ChoicePoint, a Big Data company that amassed extensive profiles

of personal data on people, was breached when fraudsters masqueraded as

legitimate customers and obtained records on about 162,000 individuals.3

ChoicePoint’s announcement of its breach was one of the first public

disclosures by an organization that it had been infiltrated. Before 2005,

there were certainly many data breaches, but companies weren’t required to

report them, so there isn’t much recorded history. These were akin to

prehistoric times. In 2005, light began to shine on the dark underworld of

data security.

After the announcement of the ChoicePoint breach, several other

companies came forward with their data breaches. Bank of America

announced a breach involving 1.2 million records. DSW, a retailer,

disclosed a hack that compromised 1.4 million records. Citigroup

announced a breach involving 3.9 million records. These breaches seemed

to be large until Card Systems Solutions announced that it had 40 million

records hacked.

Although there were accounts of a few breaches prior to 2005, it wasn’t

until this year that the mainstream news started to focus on data breaches.

California’s breach notification law—and the rapid passage of similar laws

in other states—prompted many organizations to finally air their dirty

laundry. Data breaches finally received public attention. InfoWorld and

other publications proclaimed 2005 to be “The Year of the Data Breach.”4 It

wouldn’t be the last.

In 2006, the average cost of a breach was estimated at exceeding $3

million. As concerns about data breaches mounted, many state lawmakers

were jolted into action and passed breach notification laws.5

The saga continued in 2007. The data economy blossomed. Netflix had

just begun its streaming service, and Apple introduced the iPhone. But the

fraudsters were also having a banner year. According to an article by the

Associated Press: “The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and

Social Security Numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007.”6

A gang of hackers infiltrated the computer system of supermarket chain

Hannaford Brothers and accessed 4.2 million records.7 Retailer TJ Maxx

suffered an enormous breach of credit card information, which was noted at

the time to be the “largest hack ever.” Initial reports pegged the number of

records at 45 million.8 This huge figure was shocking at the time, but

ironically, it was far lower than the actual tally, which was later revised to

94 million. TD Ameritrade’s database of 6.3 million clients was

compromised through malware.9

In 2008, data breaches increased by 47 percent from 2007.10 Bank of

New York Mellon lost a box of back-up tapes with personal data, including

Social Security Numbers. The tapes weren’t encrypted, and 12.5 million

records were compromised. The breach prompted the governor of

Connecticut to declare: “It is simply outrageous that this mountain of

information was not better protected.”11

Forbes awarded 2009 the title of “Year of the Mega Data Breach.”12 The

European Union implemented a data breach notification regime by

amending its e-Privacy directive.13 The largest breach announcement of the

year was a hack of Heartland Payment Systems involving 130 million

records. The breach cost the company more than $200 million dollars, and

its stock dropped by more than 77 percent within a few months of

announcing the breach.14

A breach at software company RockYou exposed user account data of 32

million people. Hackers were thrilled to discover that RockYou stored the

data in plain text without encryption.15

A hacker broke into a database maintained by the state of Virginia to

track prescription drug abuse. The hacker deleted 8 million patient records

and demanded $10 million in ransom to recover them:

I have your [expletive] in *my* possession, right now, are 8,257,378 patient records and a total

of 35,548,087 prescriptions. Also, I made an encrypted backup and deleted the original.

Unfortunately for Virginia, their backups seem to have gone missing, too. Uhoh :( For $10

million, I will gladly send along the password.16

This incident appears to be an early harbinger of the ransomware epidemic

that would spread exponentially a few years later.

2010 was another gigantic year in data breach history. According to a

report by Experian, data breaches were “happening on a bigger scale and

affecting more consumers than ever.” The report noted that 26 percent of

consumers received a breach notification letter. More than 25 percent of

affected individuals had to replace a debit or credit card.17