Data breaches more frequent in 2010

According to recent statistics, the number of people who fell victim to identity theft in the United States rose by nearly one-third from 2009 to 2010. The Identity Theft Resource Center reported there were 662 data breaches in the U.S. in 2010, which it said represented an almost 33 percent increase from the previous year, according to the recently released 2010 ITRC Breach List. The center reported that paper security violations made up almost one-fifth of all breaches and malware attacks made up 17.1 percent of all stolen data. The group went on to say that most breaches were incredibly difficult to track. "Other than breaches reported by the media and a few progressive state websites, there is little or no information available on many data breach events," the ITRC said in a release. "It is clear that without a mandatory national reporting requirement, that many data breaches will continue to be unreported, or under-reported." According to its site, the ITRC is a nonprofit organization that works in both victim support and public education. It deals with issues related to stolen Social Security numbers, diver's licenses and other forms of identification.