New Yorkers See 60% Rise in Data Breaches in 2016

An analysis conducted by the New York Attorney General's (AG) office reveals a 60% increase in data breaches in New York in 2016. This resulted in 1.6 million personal records exposed, three times the amount exposed in 2015. Main causes of the 1,300 reported breaches included hacking (40%) and negligence (37%).

Around 81% of data exposed during the 2016 breaches involved Social Security numbers and financial information of victims, says the report, cautioning that all types of organizations are at risk. March 2016 saw the biggest delay in breach notifications and January and October reported two mega breaches for the year.

New York AG Eric T. Schneiderman says: "It's on all of us to guard against those who try to use our personal information for harm – as these breaches too often jeopardize the financial health of New Yorkers and cost the public and private sectors billions of dollars."

Read analysis details here.