Data Breach Study Spanning 500 Break-Ins Released

Slashdot presents a link to a report from Verizon Business that is a summary of what they found in 500 forensic investigations involving 230 million records, with an analysis of hundreds of corporate breaches including 3 of the 5 largest ever reported.

The 2008 Data Breach Investigations Report covers four years and as the first-of-its-kind study, found that 73 per cent of breaches came from external sources versus 18 per cent from insider threats.

“Security breaches and the compromise of sensitive information are very real and growing concerns for organizations worldwide,” said Dr. Peter Tippett, vice president of research and intelligence for Verizon Business Security Solutions. “This report can help companies better understand data breaches – how they occur and the commonalities that exist. Most importantly, it urges organizations to be proactive in their approach to security -- the absolute key to safeguarding data.”

See complete article at verizonbusiness.com.