2005 Worse Security Year

According to writer Jon Swartz of USA Today, 2005 has been declared the worse year for breaches related to computer security. So far it has been estimated that between 50-60 million Americans have had their personal information exposed to a security breach. These 130 security breaches have created a situation in which social security and credit card numbers of the people affected have been placed in the possession of criminals.

All of these 130 security breaches have occurred during the year that saw a budget cut of 7% to the Department of Homeland Security cyber-security section. The Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance also announced that cybercrime amounted to over $105 billion last year.

For example, since Dec 16th, ABN Amro Mortgage, Marriott, Ford Motor Company, and Sam’s Club have all announced that computer data or credit card information has been stolen. In total, between 2-2.5 million people were affected in this short time due to fraud at these companies.