Consumers at Risk: 126% Increase in Exposed Consumer Data, 1.68 Billion Email-Related Credentials

The Identity Theft Resource Center®, a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity crime, and CyberScout®, a full-spectrum identity, privacy and data security services firm, released the 2018 End-of-Year Data Breach Report.

According to the report, the number of U.S. data breaches tracked in 2018 decreased from last year's all-time high of 1,632 breaches by 31 percent (or 1,244 breaches), but the reported number of consumer records exposed containing sensitive personally identifiable information jumped 126 percent from the 197,612,748 records exposed in 2017 to 446,515,334 records this past year.

"The increased exposure of sensitive consumer data is serious," said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. "Never has there been more information out there putting consumers in harm's way. ITRC continues to help victims and consumers by providing guidance on the best ways to navigate the dangers of identity theft to which these exposures give rise."

Another critical finding was the number of non-sensitive records compromised, not included in the above totals, an additional 1.68 billion exposed records. While email-related credentials are not considered sensitive personally identifiable information, a majority of consumers use the same username/email and password combinations across multiple platforms creating serious vulnerability. Read all the related news.

"When it comes to cyber hygiene, email continues to be the Achilles Heel for the average consumer," said CyberScout founder and chair, Adam Levin. "There are many strategies consumers can use to minimize their exposure, but the takeaway from this year's report is clear: Breaches are the third certainty in life, and constant vigilance is the only solution." Click here.

Download the 2018 End-of-Year Data Breach Report, here.

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