The number of data breaches increased last year, according to a report the San Diego nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center.
Last year the number of breaches documented by the center rose 43% from 2006, to 446, the report said. There were 127.7 million records exposed, including the 94 million from the breach that TJX Cos. Inc. disclosed in January.
The report, released Monday, covers breaches that were made public last year.
The center defines "protected data" as using more than just a standard password, so it considers even password-protected data on stolen hardware to be exposed.
Also, there were many incidents last year in which the exact number of records exposed was not reported, so the actual number of records exposed may be higher, the report said.
