A research paper due to be released this summer predicts that the two billionth data loss will take place by the end of 2007. In a story posted on ScienceDaily.com, Phil Howard, an Associate Professor of Communications at the University of Washington states that "electronic records in the United States are bleeding at the rate of 6 million a month in 2007, up some 200,000 a month from last year."
Howard, along with Kris Erickson, a UW doctoral candidate in geography, will have their work published in the July edition of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
Howard and Erickson don't place the blame for the escalation in data loss on hackers though; they put the blame on the shoulders of corporate America, citing research studies showing three out of every five data losses involving personal information are tied to corporate malfeasance.
A couple things to note. The numbers cited in the study were compiled from media stories. As Erickson indicates, this probably means their numbers are conservative. It certainly doesn't cover unreported data loss or smaller incidents that may not have made headline news. Also, Erickson also acknowledges the role the California Notice of Security Breach law has played in increasing the number of breaches that have been publicized in the last couple years. That appears to be clearly indicated by the increase between their 2006 and 2007 numbers.
With these ominous statistics, it won't be long before everyone in America has had their personal information compromised at least once.
It's kind of FUD, isn't it?
Do these big scary numbers, "2 billion" and "increases of 200k per month from last year" really match up to the reality of loss?
2 billion, after all, is (roughly) 1 of every 4 people on earth. The next time you go to the grocery store, do you really believe that 1 of every 4 people there have actually suffered because of corporate malfeasance w/regard to their data?
Posted by: Alex | March 29, 2007 at 08:26 AM