The Identity Theft Resource Center recently published its Data Breach Report, wherein it reported that 901 breaches gaining access to more than 35 million records were recorded between Jan. 1, 2016 and Dec. 13, 2016. The report projects that even more breaches were likely before the end of the year.
For 15 years in a row, identity theft was the top complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission. While more aggressive measures have been taken to improve the security of personal information, cyber-criminals seem to evolve and grow in sophistication at a rate faster than security measures can be taken, thus keeping consumers vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.
Here are the breaches reported:
Business
- 432 (# of) breaches (44.1%)
- 5,649,046 breached records (16.0%)
Medical/healthcare
- 355 (# of) breaches (36.2%)
- 15,426,015 breached records (43.8%)
Educational
- 84 (# of) breaches (8.6%)
- 1,015,813 breached records (2.9%)
Government/Military
- 66 (# of) breaches (6.7%)
- 13,070,531 breached records (37.1%)
Banking/Credit/Financial
- 43 (# of) breaches (4.4%)
- 71,912 breached records (0.2%)
All Categories
- 980 Total breaches (100%)
- 35,233,317 breached records (100%)
Breaches by U.S. Locations
As with analysis of cyber-crime activities on a worldwide basis, when limited to the U.S., your likelihood of becoming a victim depends on your state of residence. So, counting down from 10 to 1, here are the top 10 cyber-risk vulnerable states for 2016:
No. 10 – Connecticut
Connecticut is tied with four other states for having the most identity theft complaints per capita. You might want to move to Hawaii,they had the fewest such complaints.
2016 Cyber-loss 10 - Connecticut
No. 9 – Missouri
Who knows why the state of Missouri ranks ninth overall? It happens to be one of four states tied with Connecticut for having the most identity theft complaints per capita.
2016 Cyber-loss 9 - Missouri
No. 8 – Michigan
Michigan was ranked 8th overall even though it was tied with four other states for having the most fraud complaints per capita. North Dakota has the fewest fraud complaints per capita, but the coldest winters of any state on this list.
2016 Cyber-loss 8 - Michigan
No. 7 – Texas
Texas was ranked 7th overall, but had the fifth most fraud complaints per capita. Texas always strives to be number one in everything, maybe they can be at the top of this list next year.
2016 Cyber-loss 7 - Texas
No. 6 – Illinois
Chicago has one of the highest overall crime rates of anywhere, so why shouldn't Illinois be 6th overall. It is fourth when it comes to the the highest average loss amount due to online identity theft. Montana has the lowest average loss amount per identity theft incident.
2016 Cyber-loss 6 - Illinois
No. 5 – Nevada
Nevada was ranked fifth overall, even though it ranks second in the country for fraud. I wonder why 'the mob' let's any of this go on in home territory?
2016 Cyber-loss 5 - Nevada
# 4 - Massachusetts
Massachusetts is ranked 4th overall. It is also tied for being the number one state with the highest average loss amount due to online identity theft. If they would start 'burning cyber criminals' rather than witches, they might solve this mess.
2016 Cyber-loss 4 - Massachusetts
No. 3 – Florida
Florida is ranked 3rd overall. It is tied for first among states with the most identity theft complaints per capita. Florida is also tied for first in terms of the most fraud complaints per capita.
2016 Cyber-loss 3-Florida
No. 2 – California
I bet you thought California would be ranked # 1, but actually it's ranked 2nd highest overall. It has the third highest average losses due to online identity theft and the third highest state with average losses due to fraud.
2016 Cyber-loss 2-California
No. 1 – Washington, D.C.
And even though it isn't really a state, it was included in these survey results. Washington, D.C. ranked first in cyber-crimes. It tied for first with Connecticut, Missouri and Florida for most identity theft complaints per capita, and tied for first with Massachusetts for highest average losses due to online identity theft. It also tied for first with Florida, Georgia and Michigan for most fraud complaints per capita; and was fifth for highest average losses due to fraud. In other words Washington DC is cyber-theft central!
2016 Cyber-loss 1-Washington,DC
Are you feeling safe? Perhaps if you're in one of the states mentioned in the context of being very low or at the bottom of the U.S. risk pile. Otherwise, your risk is less than these 10 locales.
But if you live in one of these places – watch out, your data, your finances and your devices are at risk big time.
Resources:
The Identity Theft Resource Center, the Data Breach Report and Property Casualty 360 by National Underwriter Property & Casualty.