In the United States we pride ourselves on being world leaders, but not when it comes to the number of data security breaches that we fall victim to. According to a report published by The Hill, the United States outpaced the rest of the world concerning the number of data security breaches that took place here. We outdid every other country by leaps and bounds, in fact, and it is quite clear that we will need to work harder in the future to help prevent data breaches from occurring.

Some Eye-Popping Data Security Statistics for 2016

Data breaches have become more and more frequent occurrences over time and are only predicted to get worse in the future. Naturally, 2016 was worse in terms of data breaches than 2015, just as 2015 was worse than 2014. Below are a few data breach statistics from 2016:

• Eight of the top 20 worst data breaches of all time occurred in 2016.
• Across the entire world in 2016 there were 4,149 data breaches that exposed a total of 4.2 billion records.
• Of those, 47% of all instances of data breaches where user data was exposed occurred in the United States last year.
• 68% of all data breaches involving record exposure occurred in the United States, as well.
• The US is responsible for compromising a whopping 2.9 billion records.
• Compared to other countries, the United States beat out its nearest competitors by a factor of 10.
• The United Kingdom came in second behind the United States in terms of the number of data breaches that occurred in the country, and in terms of total records exposed, the United States beat out Russia.  

Why Was the United States So Far Ahead of Other Countries?

Several factors contributed to the United States ranking so high in data breaches last year compared to other countries. Part of the reason that so many data security breaches occur in the United States is because the US is home to so many highly valuable companies, which makes the United States an attractive target. The United States is also home to a number of companies that have a large online presences, which makes them particularly vulnerable to cyber security breaches. In particular, the pair of Yahoo data breaches that were disclosed in 2016 occurred in the US and accounted for approximately 1.5 billion exposed records on its own.

Talk to a Data Breach Lawyer

Data Security is a dynamic area and Revision Legal is dedicated to staying up to date on the latest developments in the law. Whether you have been involved in a data breach, or a cyber security breach, Revision Legal can help you. We have worked with businesses of all sizes to deal with the aftermath of a data breaches and can provided counsel on how to manage breach notification for those where were affected by the breach under the laws of all 50 states. Since civil fines are available in some states for a failure to expeditiously notify those affected by breaches, it is important that you work with an experienced data breach attorney immediately. You need the legal team from Revision Legal in your corner today. Contact us using the form on this page or call us at 855-473-8474.

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