Study: Hackers get bum rap for data loss
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SEATTLE, March 14 A review of sensitive U.S. business records suggests 3-of-5 data breaches are caused by organizational malfeasance not computer hackers.University of Washington Assistant Professor Phil Howard estimated by the end of this year, the 2 billionth personal record -- a Social Security or credit card number, academic record or medical history -- will be breached.Howard's research suggests electronic records in the United States are being compromised at the rate of 6 million a month, up by approximately 200,000 a month from last year.Howard bases his projections on a review of 1.9 billion breached-record incidents as reported in major U.S. news media from 1980 through 2006.We have actually been able to get a much better snapshot of the spectrum of privacy violations, Howard said. And the surprising part is how (many) of those violations are organizationally prompted -- they are not about lone wolf hackers doing their thing with malicious intent.The study, co-written with Kris Erickson, a University of Washington geography doctoral student, is to appear in the July edition of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.Copyright 2007 by UPI
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