Say yes to added security when protecting your personal data. — James Steinberg/theispot.com
Almost every transaction you make — be it using a credit card, getting a blood test, posting on Facebook or collecting a paycheck or retirement benefit — gets captured in cyberspace and stored in databases operated by corporations, health care providers, government agencies and other organizations.
That data is a treasure trove for identity thieves. It’s no wonder, then, that hackers are relentless in their attempts to break into the computers that store it. When they succeed, the result is a “data breach.”
There was a record number of such breaches last year, with 2,644 documented incidents exposing some 267 million records, reports the Open Security Foundation, which tracks information security risks. Last year was also a big one for identity theft: One in 20 Americans was hit by this crime — that amounts to one every three seconds — at a total cost of about $21 billion. Half of known fraud victims had previously been subject to a breach, according to Javelin Strategy Research.