If it seems like the words “leak,” “compromised data,” and “breach” are constantly in the news, it’s not just you. The frequency of major data breaches is increasing. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of
breaches is expected to top 1,500 in 2017. That’s a 37 percent annual increase over 2016, which itself was a record year for exposed personal data.
But while most data breaches are small and contained, this year saw a handful of spectacularly bad security fails. Here are the most massive sets of compromised data and data breaches of 2017.
1. Equifax
Let’s start with the Mother of All Breaches.
Equifax, one of the four major credit reporting agencies, revealed in September that cybercriminals had penetrated their network. The breach exposed the data of 143 million Americans—basically, every single adult in the country. Exposed information included names, social security numbers, birthdates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers.
It gets worse. Credit card numbers for about 209,000 consumers and documents related to credit reporting disputes for 182,000 people were also exposed.
