SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and SAN DIEGO, Jan. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — The number of U.S. data breaches tracked in 2016 hit an all-time record high of 1,093, according to a new report released today by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and CyberScout (formerly IDT911). This represents a substantial hike of 40 percent over the near record high of 780 reported in 2015. This raises the question: are there actually more breaches or is it because more states are making this information publicly available?

“With support from CyberScout, the ITRC has been able to heighten its efforts in tracking breaches nationwide by seeking out information on breach incidents through direct contact with numerous states’ attorney general offices as well as by submitting Freedom of Information Act requests,” said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO, ITRC. “For the past 10 years, the ITRC has been aware of the under-reporting of data breach incidents on the national level and the need for more state or federal agencies to make breach notifications more publicly available. This year we have seen a number of states take this step by making data breach notifications public on their websites. The ITRC Data Breach Report 2016 now includes information from more than a dozen state agencies,” Velasquez added.”