The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has published an archive of yearly data breaches, which provides data breach statistics collected by the office from 2007 to the present. These statistics clearly show that data breaches are on the rise in Massachusetts. Since 2007, in which there were 30 breach notifications, Massachusetts has seen an increase of 620% in the number of data breach notifications in that state.

A close analysis shows that the vast majority of these breaches are electronic in nature and primarily target banks with customers within the state of Massachusetts. The new archive includes information on whether driver’s license, Social Security, credit, or debit card numbers were taken, whether the data breached was encrypted, whether a mobile phone was stolen, and the relief that was offered to the affected individuals, such as payment or credit monitoring.

It will be interesting to see how consumer advocacy groups and attorneys use this information and whether fear of being listed in the archive will provide companies with an incentive to provide better data protection and security. If you or your business has been the victim of a data breach, contact one of our attorneys today.