New York AG Reports 1,300 Data Breaches in 2016 Exposed Data for 1.6 Million People

Nearly 1,300 data breaches exposing personal data for about 1.6 million New Yorkers were reported last year, said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a Tuesday news release. The record number of reported breaches increased by 60 percent from 2015, and the exposure of records tripled, his office said. Hacking, the leading cause in previous reports, accounted for more than 40 percent of the data breaches, the office said. Last year, employee negligence, insider wrongdoing and loss of a device or media combined were about 37 percent of the breaches, Schneiderman's office added. Social Security numbers and financial records were the most acquired data -- about 81 percent of breaches -- followed by driver's license numbers, date of birth and password or account information, the release said. The office provided recommendations to help organizations better secure data or provide a better response in case of breach.