AG's office reports data on security breaches
The state's consumers have reported more than 100 security breaches since Dec. 1, 2005, according to data released today by the N.C. Department of Justice.
These breaches, ranging from stolen computers to data thefts by employees and contractors, have impacted more than 500,000 consumers, the state's attorney general reports. Individuals involved saw data and records containing personal information, such as their Social Security Numbers or bank account information, lost, stolen or displayed for public consumption.
Nearly half the reported incidents involved the financial services and insurance industries. Nearly 10 percent of them came from reports by state and local government agencies, which have been required to report breaches since Oct. 1.
The breakdown ... after the jump ...
* More than 146,800 state residents saw their personal information compromised after a theft of a laptop, computer or other equipment. This category saw the greatest number of breaches - 52 of them as of today.
* Hackers and people accessing accounts and information without clearance have been involved in 18 breaches that, in total, impacted 41,700 consumers.
* Twenty incidents of releasing or displaying personal information have been reported since Dec. 1, 2005. These problems affected the largest pool of consumers - 306,273, by the AG's count.
* Employees and contractors stealing information impacted nearly 11,000 consumers in seven incidents.
* Data was lost in transit on at least four occasions since Dec. 1. This impacted more than 28,900 of the state's residents.
* Two reported phishing scams hurt 16 N.C. consumers.
The Department of Justice also broke down the numbers by industry, and the financial services and insurance sectors won out for the most breaches - 49 of them, impacting a total of 157,372 consumers. Government-related information breaches hurt the greatest number of consumers during the shortest time, though, with 10 state and local government lapses impacting nearly 168,700 people since Oct. 1.
Here's the remaining industry breakdown:
* In the "general business" category, the AG's office say 33 breaches that comprised information related to 46,146 consumers.
* Health care businesses have reported six breaches, impacting nearly 58,870 consumers.
* Educational institutions reported four data breaches, impacting 103,589 consumers.
* Religious and nonprofit groups have reported only one breach, impacting 25 consumers.
The justice department recommends that consumers at risk in a security breach should freeze their accounts with all three major credit bureaus and take other steps to protect themselves.