2008's Record Year for Data Breaches

According to Verizon's 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report, the total number of consumer records compromised in 2008 exceeded the combined total from 2004 to 2007, which has resulted in cheaper black market credit card data. In terms of actual street price the value of stolen card information has dropped from $10 to $16 per record in mid-2007 to less than $.50 per record today.


The primary target for cybercriminals is still the retail and financial sector which represented 61% of the 285 million records compromised. According to the report, while the absolute number of attacks was smaller, the cyber criminals and methods utilized were very determined, very complex and extremely successful. 3 out of 4 data breaches came from an outside entity, not an insider.