2017 saw 2.7 BILLIION data records compromised

The year of 2017 saw a monumental 2.7 BILLIION data records compromised around the world as a result of data breaches and data hacks, estimates say.

This overall estimated figure of data records compromised is terrifying, with the UK reportedly in second place (behind the US) when it comes to the league table of breaches around the world.

They really are happening all the time and all over the place, and figures suggest that numbers have almost doubled in the UK from 2016 to 2017.

Lack of awareness and data records compromised

There’s a real lack of awareness from people sometimes as to where their data is and how it is secure, never mind the fact that 2017 saw an estimated 2.7 billion data records compromised. People are usually more than happy to hand over their data and take heed of the various warnings, messages and boilerplate texts about data security, but does anyone really know what it actually means for them?

What is secure? Who is more secure? Were my date records compromised at any time in the past?

There are far too many unknowns, and there are justified questions over the continual lack of encryption that many organisations are still guilty of when it comes to the data they hold.

The number one causes leading to such a high figure of data records compromised is reportedly malicious threat actors and data loss. We saw last year just how effective cyberhackers can be judging from the massive WannaCry incident of 2017.

UK businesses still not prioritising cybersecurity despite levels of data records compromised

Despite the sheer volumes of data records compromised in recent times, important issues like cybersecurity are still not a priority for the majority of UK businesses, recent research concluded.

But are we set to see a major shift in attitude towards data protection and cybersecurity?

Perhaps things will change. You’d think that the mass of recent breaches and the new GDPR powers that can allow the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to fine organisations up to £17 or 4pc of their global annual turnover would be a deterrent. Until we see how the trends go in terms of data records compromised and overall cybersecurity now the new regulations are in force, it may be hard to judge whether the lessons have been finally learned or not.

As we have been saying a lot recently, the first to fall foul of the new laws may be Ticketmaster after their recent breach that we’re representing victims for. It will be interesting to see how this entirely preventable data breach will be punished.

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