Cyber security experts' reminder to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication may sound like a broken record, but a new report shows the warning is more important than ever.
Data breaches are a growing problem. Last year, more than 353 million Americans became victims.
The Identity Theft Resource Center released its 2023 report of data breaches, and the findings are jolting even to the non-profit's President and CEO Eva Velasquez.
"We're over 3,200 breaches in a single year," Velasquez said. "That’s a 72% increase over the previous all-time high back in 2021."
The ITRC says the top three industries targeted by data breaches are healthcare, financial services and professional services, followed by manufacturing and education.
The hackers, according to the report, are looking for your social security number, passwords, email address and your physical address.
From there, they can either use your info to apply for credit cards or target you with phishing emails and other scams.
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According to the most recent data from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, 96 Illinois companies reported being the victim of data breaches in 2022. That's up from 41 reported corporate data breaches in 2021.
Velasquez said it's not a matter of if you will be impacted by a data breach, but when.
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"You don’t actually feel it until it's misused," said Velasquez.
You can find out if companies you do business with have been impacted by a data breach by going to IdTheftCenter.org/notified and searching for the company by name.
"You can also set an alert to find out if they have a breach in the future," said Velasquez.
What can you do right now to protect yourself from the impact of a data breach? Vasquez said it only takes a matter of minutes to sign up for a credit freeze through the three credit reporting bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
It's also important to use two-factor authentication for your digital accounts. And change your passwords often.
