Feds: 30 Security Incidents per Day

U.S. federal government agencies reported an average of 30 incidents per day in which Americans' personally identifiable information is exposed, a top federal IT official said earlier this week.

Speaking at the Executive Leadership Conference in Williamsburg, Va., Karen Evans, administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget, said that the number of reported incidents has more than doubled since June, according to a report.

OMB began requiring agencies to report security incidents involving personally identifiable information in July 2006, Evans said. By June 2007, 40 agencies reported almost 4,000 incidents, an average of about 14 per day.

But as of this week, the average had increased to 30 per day, Evans said.

Evans went on to say that most of the breaches did not present a serious threat to individuals' personal information, and that an increase in reporting "is not necessarily a bad thing," but simply reflects greater awareness of security issues.

— Tim Wilson, Site Editor, Dark Reading