Fergie's Tech Blog

Survey: Data Breaches Yield Few ID Thefts

No real surprise here, either, however bear in mind that this is a survey, and the numbers reflect what people think or have experienced.

Jaikumar Vijayan writes on ComputerWorld:

Contrary to popular perception, computer data breaches are less likely to result in identity theft and other fraud than off-line causes such as lost or stolen wallets and checkbooks.

That was the finding of a year-long study of about 5,000 U.S. consumers by Pleasanton, Calif.-based analyst firm Javelin Strategy & Research. Javelin's research showed that despite recent hype, data breaches were responsible for just 6% of all known cases of identity theft, compared to 30% from incidents like losing one's wallet. The study also showed that less than 1% of all individuals whose data was lost later became victims of ID theft.

posted by Fergie @ 9/15/2006 10:43:00 AM