Security facts & stats

Question 1

In 2012, about how many Americans had their identity stolen, according to an industry estimate?

Accepted Answer

about 15 million. Identity theft can take years to detect, since victims often don't know how their information was obtained.

Question 2

A 2016 researcher estimated that plain data breaches (excluding phishing) outnumbered other types of security breaches by about how much?

Accepted Answer

about 4 times. Sasha Romanosky's research also estimated the typical breach cost a company only about $200,000, far less than the inflated $5 million average.

Question 3

In what year did the last U.S. state (Alabama) pass a data-breach notification law, completing coverage across all 50 states?

Accepted Answer

2018. There is still no single federal law requiring notification for most types of data breaches.

Question 4

In 2008, an estimated 630,000 people under age 19 were identity theft victims, leaving them with average debt of about how much?

Accepted Answer

$12,799. Children's identities are especially attractive to thieves because the fraud often goes undetected for years.

Security facts & stats

Going deeper

In 2012, about how many Americans had their identity stolen, according to an industry estimate?

In what year did the last U.S. state (Alabama) pass a data-breach notification law, completing coverage across all 50 states?

Expert level

A 2016 researcher estimated that plain data breaches (excluding phishing) outnumbered other types of security breaches by about how much?

In 2008, an estimated 630,000 people under age 19 were identity theft victims, leaving them with average debt of about how much?