Number of Identities Exposed by Cause

In the first half of 2007, hacking was responsible for 73% of identities exposed. The prominence of hacking as a cause of exposed identities was largely driven by the TJX breach. This shows clearly that hacking is the cause of data breaches that is most likely to lead to wide-scale identity theft. This is likely because hacking is more clearly purpose-driven than insecure policy or the loss or theft of devices. It is an intentional act with a clearly defined purpose: to steal data that can be used for purposes of identity theft or other fraud.

Source: Based on data provided by Attrition