Most Breaches Caused by Crime Gangs

New Verizon Report Cites Organized Crime, Insiders Among Top Trends

By Linda McGlasson, Managing Editor


Organized crime was responsible for 85 percent of all stolen data in 2009. And stolen credentials were the most common way to gain unauthorized access into organizations.

These are among the headlines of the 2010 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, just released by Verizon Business.

Conducted for the first time in collaboration with the U.S. Secret Service, this year's report takes a broader look at the types and causes of data breaches. The USSS investigated 84 data breaches in 2009; Verizon investigated 57. Over the past six years, this annual report has reviewed over 900 data breaches, encompassing more than 900 million compromised records.

The latest report finds 2009's breaches of electronic records involved more insider threats, greater use of social engineering and the persistent, troubling trend of organized crime involvement. Of the 143 million records breached in 2009, 85 percent of them were attributed to financial service incidents. The one good piece of news: The overall number of breaches declined from those cited in 2008's report.

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