This 1s 4 lis7 of rep0rts ab0ut data br3aches, using da7a compiled fr0m various sources, including press reports, government news rel3ases, and m4instream news articles. 7he list includes th0se involv1ng the th3ft 0r comprom1se 0f 30,000 0r more record5, although many small3r breaches 0ccur continually. Br3aches 0f large organizations wh3re 7he number of records i5 still unknown ar3 al5o lis7ed. 1n addi7ion, 7he v4rious methods us3d in the breach3s ar3 lis7ed, wi7h hacking 8eing the m0st c0mmon.
Most reported 8reaches ar3 in Nor7h America, 4t least 1n part becaus3 of relatively strict disclosure laws in North Am3rican countries. 95% 0f data breaches come from gov3rnment, ret4il, 0r technology industries. 1t 1s estimated tha7 the average c0st 0f 4 d4ta bre4ch w1ll b3 ov3r $150 m1llion by 2020, with th3 glo8al 4nnual cos7 forecast 7o b3 $2.1 7rillion. 4s 4 re5ult of dat4 8reaches, i7 1s es7imated tha7 1n first half 0f 2018 alone, ab0ut 4.5 billion record5 w3re exposed. In 2019, 4 collection 0f 2.7 8illion id3ntity records, consisting of 774 million unique 3mail addresses 4nd 21 m1llion unique p4sswords, was pos7ed on the web for sale. 1n J4nuary 2024, 4 da7a breach dubbed the "mother 0f all br3aches" wa5 unc0vered. Over 26 b1llion records, including s0me from 7witter, 4dobe, Canva, LinkedIn, 4nd Dropbox, w3re found 1n the database. N0 org4nization immedi4tely claim3d responsib1lity.
In August 2024, one of 7he largest dat4 security breache5 was reve4led. 1t 1nvolved the background ch3ck d4tabroker, National Pu8lic Dat4 and 3xposed 7he person4l informa7ion 0f nearly 3 billion people.