The number of data breaches skyrocketed 81.5% in 2010 — to 760 from 141 in 2009 — according to the 2011 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report. The report also found that the number of compromised records fell from 144 million in 2009 to 4 million in 2010, suggesting that cyber criminals are changing their tactics.

 

"When it comes to targets, [attackers] don't really pursue elephants like they used to," says Bryan Sartin, director of investigative response at Verizon. "Criminals realize that when you are hacking into large companies these days there is enough security evolution that their actions tend to leave a footprint behind and that footprint leads to prosecution."

 

The report found that stolen credit card data dropped sharply. Instead, the value of authentication records, including usernames and passwords, has risen dramatically. In addition, company proprietary data — including intellectual property, sales contacts and other sensitive data — is becoming more valuable.

 

The trend may already be changing for 2011 however, following the recent massive database breach at e-mail marketing firm Epsilon. The breach affected customers of major retailers including Best Buy, Kroger and Walgreens whose e-mail addresses were stolen, subjecting them to phishing attempts. A similar breach occurred last week to customers of children's apparel retailer The Children's Place.

 

The Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report is the largest of its kind, examining 923 unique cases spanning more than six years of investigation by Verizon, the U.S. Secret Service and the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit, which offered data on attacks in Europe.

 

For related content: The Children's Place Hit with E-Mail Database Breach