US Data Breach Victim Numbers Surge 1170% Annually

Fewer incidents, more victims

The number of US data breach victims in Q2 2024 increased annually by over 1000%, despite a 12% decrease in the actual number of incidents in those three months, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The non-profit compiled the figures for its H1 2024 Data Breach Analysis from publicly reported breaches in the US, Infosecurity Magazine reports.

It claimed the Q2 increase in victim numbers was due to the impact of a small number of large breaches, and impacted organizations like Prudential Financial and Infosys McCamish System revising victim counts up from tens of thousands to millions of customers.

Through the first half of the year, the ITRC tracked 1571 data compromises, putting H1 2024 14% higher than H1 2023 – which became a record year for breaches.

The number of data breach victims in the first six months of 2024 (1,078,989,742) increased 490% compared to the first half of 2023 (182,645,409). However, the estimate didn’t include the Change Healthcare supply chain attack which it’s believed will impact a significant number of US victims.

ITRC president and CEO, Eva Velasquez, argued that many of the trends that emerged in 2023 are continuing this year.

“In some cases, such as the number of organizations impacted by supply chain attacks and the number of entities that did not list the root cause of a breach, the trends accelerated through the first half of the year,” she explained.

“The takeaway from this report is simple: Every person, business, institution and government agency must view data and identity protection with a greater sense of urgency.”

Which industries are in the crosshairs?

Reported compromises increased in 10 of the 16 industries tracked by the ITRC, with financial services the most compromised industry. Breaches there jumped 67% year-on-year (YoY) in H1 2024.

Healthcare breaches actually declined 37% in H1 2024, pushing the sector into second place.

Driver’s License data was stolen in 25% of data breaches in H1 2024, reflecting its growing use for identity verification.