Compromised: Why experts say data breaches are on the rise

Many of us have gotten one before, a letter telling us our information has been compromised in a data breach. 

Sophisticated cyber-criminals are getting the information to steal your identity through data breaches.

“Virtually everybody's been a victim of a data breach or being hacked. And if you haven't, it's just a matter of time,” Senator Mark Warner said. 

A look at data breaches and identity theft complaints from across the country show a steady increase since 2020. 

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 14,319 complaints were reported to their agency related to data breaches and identity theft in 2020. In 2022, that number grew to 32,469 complaints. 

In Florida, the numbers are on the rise too.    

NBC 6 Responds found so far this year 237 companies have reported security breaches to the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Those breaches could have affected more than 9 million people. 

Not even the Florida Department of Health was spared from hackers. Back in June their network was breached and private information was stolen. The hacker group RansomHub claimed responsibility and the department confirmed the attackers leaked data including names, social security numbers, and medical records of thousands of Floridians. 

So how do these attacks happen? 

According to cybersecurity experts, in most cases, hackers manage to steal an organization’s information because necessary precautions were not taken when establishing its system. 

“You have external threats or hackers. They can discover those vulnerabilities and then exploit those vulnerabilities and gain access to the application,” cybersecurity expert Esteban Farao said. 

Hackers also use phishing scams by sending an email or link to a company employee using a work computer. When the employee clicks it the hacker gains access to the company’s system and their data. 

“We need to have a reckoning when it comes to how we think about data and the laws that we have written around misuse,” Identity Theft Resource Center CEO Eva Velasquez said. 

When and how you find out your information has been compromised depends on where you live. 

In Florida, only if a breach impacts more than 500 people does a company have to notify the state. Then, the company has 30 days after they have determined or believe the breach has occurred to notify you. 

When you get notified that your information has been compromised you don’t want to ignore it. 

There are steps you can take like freezing your credit and signing up for credit monitoring offers. 

You should also try to limit the amount of information you provide companies.