Cybersecurity experts’ warnings to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication may sound like a broken record, but a new report shows the warnings are more important than ever. is showing.
Data breaches have become a serious problem. Last year, more than 353 million Americans died.
The Identity Theft Resource Center has released a report on data breaches in 2023, and its findings shock even Eva Vázquez, the nonprofit’s president and CEO.
“We’ve had over 3,200 breaches in one year,” Vazquez said. “This is an increase of 72% compared to the all-time high in 2021.”
According to the ITRC, the top three industries targeted by data breaches are healthcare, financial services, and professional services, followed by manufacturing and education.
According to the report, hackers are looking for your social security number, password, email address, and physical address.
From there, they can use your information to apply for credit cards or target you with phishing emails and other scams.
According to the latest data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, 96 Illinois businesses reported being victims of data breaches in 2022. This is up from 41 companies that reported corporate data breaches in 2021.
Vazquez said it’s not a question of if you’ll be affected by a data breach, but when.
“You don’t really feel it until it’s exploited,” Vasquez said.
You can see if a company you do business with has been affected by a data breach by visiting IdTheftCenter.org/notified and searching for the company by name.
“You can also set up alerts to see if a breach occurs in the future,” Vasquez says.
What can you do now to protect yourself from the effects of a data breach? Vazquez said it only takes a few minutes to apply for a credit freeze through the three credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
It’s also important to use two-factor authentication for your digital accounts. And change your password frequently.
