More than a billion people were hit by data breaches in the first half of 2024 —a jaw-dropping 1,170% jump from the same time last year. The latest Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) report has been released and the numbers are alarming.
Here are a few highlights from the H1 2024 Data Breach Report released by the non-profit which serves as a resource and advisory center on identity theft:
- 732 data compromises in Q2 2024 were down 12% from Q1.
- 1,571 compromises occurred in the first half of 2024—a 14% increase from the first half of 2023.
- A whopping 490% surge in breach victims in the first half of 2024 (over 1 billion) compared to H1 2023 (just under 183 million).
Key Q2 Data Compromise Updates:
- Prudential Financial: Initially reported 36,000 victims back in February 2024 but upped that number to 2.5 million by June.
- Infosys McCamish: Bumped their victim count from 84,000 to 6 million.
- Snowflake Cloud: Credential stuffing attacks on their customers accounted for over 900 million victims in Q2 alone.
Eva Velasquez, the CEO of ITRC, puts it simply: “Everyone—from individuals to big corporations—needs to take data and identity protection way more seriously. The trends that started in 2023, leading to record-breaking breaches, are only picking up speed in 2024.”
Some standout stats:
- “Not Specified” was the top-listed cause of cyberattacks in H1 2024, showing up in 68% of breach notices.
- Financial services companies saw a 67% increase in attacks, making it the most compromised industry this year.
- Out of the 16 industries tracked by the ITRC, 10 reported an increase in breaches. Healthcare, however, saw a 37% drop, moving from the most targeted industry to the second spot for the first time in six years.
- Driver’s license data theft is on the rise, appearing in 25% of breaches as of H1 2024. With more transactions requiring ID verification, this trend isn’t slowing down.
If you’re looking to white label identity protection software or just want to keep your clients and members safe, these numbers make one thing clear: Now’s the time to act.
