A List of Data Breaches
A data breach can be defined as the unauthorized disclosure of information, compromising the security, confidentiality, or integrity of personally identifiable information. This could include personal information such as social security numbers, name & address, bank accounts or classified company information such as financial reports and intellectual property.
In 2006, companies spent nearly $5 million to recover from lost or stolen data (Source: NetworkWorld.com). Data breaches involving the personal information of individuals occur through no fault of the consumers themselves, but rather through the mismanagement of information or lack of effective data security by the organizations that store/use the information in the course of business.
While some data breaches occur as a result of stolen laptops or lost computer hardware, the list below provides resources and information related to breaches where data was stolen from databases--where users (authorized or unauthorized) obtained access to the data via corporate networks.
This list is updated on a regular basis. The breaches are listed in reverse chronological order.
Data Breaches: A list of data breaches in 2007. Note that this list is based on the chronology of data breaches by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and The Breach Blog.
Click any link to jump to the data breach of interest or access the main list of data breaches.