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The Identity Theft Resource Center has logged more reports of breached personal and financial information this year than it did in all of 2007. By 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 22, the San Diego-based nonprofit center had counted 449 universities, businesses and government agencies in the United States reporting breaches during the first eight months of this year, surpassing the tally of 446 breach reports for all of 2007. Linda Foley, founder of the center, tells CardLine more businesses, schools and government bodies conduct regular audits of their own networks, which means they discover possible intrusions more frequently and sooner than they did in the past. Foley attributes part of the increase to new breach-notification lists posted online by state attorneys general in New Hampshire and Maryland. The lists, established in the past couple of years, include small breaches not reported in consumer media. Some small breaches do not make the news despite making state disclosure lists because victims are satisfied with how companies handled disclosure and customer service after the breaches. "Perhaps it was well-contained, and consumers notified were happy with how it was handled," Foley says.
