Privacy Rights Clearinghouse names top data breaches of 2006
Veterans Affairs Department and Circuit City/Chase Card Services top the list; PRC hits the 100 million illegally accessed records mark; two dozen breaches in 2006 of more than 100,000
There is something about the human brain that encourages us to make lists and fascinate over records. Indeed, it can only be human instinct — not critical intelligence — that makes the Guiness Book of World Records a competitor to the Holy Bible in copies sold worldwide. Here at HSDW we are no different, and so it is with our humanity well in mind that we present the largest data breaches of 2006, as compiled by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. We note also that, according to CSOOnline, the organization recently reached a milestone: 100 million records illegally accessed.
To give a sense of the numbers: The organization last year observed two dozen breaches with more than 100,000 records of sensitive information — not including cases where the total loss was not known. The five biggest breaches of 2006 included: Veterans Affairs Department (28.6 million records lost); Circuit City/Chase Card Services (2.6 million); Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp. (1.7 million); Chicago Election Board (1.35 million); and American Red Cross, St. Louis chapter (1 million).
-read more at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Web site
