104,003,513 Personal Online Identity Records Breached in Six Months, According To The IdentityHawk 2011 Semiannual Identity Breach Report

IdentityHawk’s semiannual 2011 report accounted for 158 publicly known enterprise breaches. Armed with timely information, consumers can take action to help “stop fraud before it starts.”

NORWALK, Conn.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--The IdentityHawk^SM 2011 Semiannual Identity Breach Report summarized 104,003,513 personal online identity records breached in the last six months, showing 84,527,737 more personal records breached in the first half of 2011 than in all of 2010. The large increase of personal records breached to date in 2011 versus 2010 is due to the current cyber-attacks of large institutions. In 2010, IdentityHawk reported 250 enterprise breaches; through the first six months of 2011 it reported 158 enterprise breaches.

“a restaurant worker skimmed customer credit cards while working at TGI Friday's in Coon Rapids”

A data breach, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), is “an event in which an individual’s name plus Social Security Number (SSN), driver’s license number, medical record, or a financial record/credit/debit card is potentially put at risk – either in electronic or paper format.”

IdentityHawk sifts through all reported data breaches that occur and defines relevant breaches according to comprehensive guidelines. If a breach affects one of the top banking institutions or companies, is widely publicized, or at least 500,000 records were lost or compromised, IdentityHawk reports it to members within hours. This assures that a member’s time is not wasted chasing down hundreds of very minor breaches reported.

IdentityHawk members can check that their own data was not compromised and are given methods to protect personal information on major breaches. If a member is compromised with a minor or localized breach, that member will be alerted by a change in their credit and identity information and can take appropriate action.

IdentityHawk alerts members according to the relevancy of the enterprise breach. The cumulative results are part of the “breached institutions” listing from IdentityHawk entitled “The IdentityHawk 2011 Semiannual Identity Breach Report.”

For the complete ITRC report, please go to ITRC. Its reports include breaches that are more “contained” such as: “a restaurant worker skimmed customer credit cards while working at TGI Friday's in Coon Rapids,” Minnesota. The ITRC reported 662 data breaches in the United States in 2010, vs. the 250 significant filtered breaches that were widely alerted to IdentityHawk members.

According to Jeff Paradise, executive director of IdentityHawk, “It is important to take immediate action on the breaches that count, and not waste your time with stuff that won’t be relevant to you. We filter out the fluff and identify breaches through our technology and analytics that are relevant to you – whether it be a mass national breach or one in your neighborhood.”

IdentityHawk’s constant preventative service is part of its comprehensive “Fraud Screening.” It assures that IdentityHawk members can take swift action to protect their personal identity, upholding the IdentityHawk promise to help “stop fraud before it starts.”

IdentityHawk members receive alerts of key consumer data breaches. Members can then do the following:

1. Immediately see the details of the breach.

2. Determine if they are affiliated with the fraud event.

3. If affiliated with the breach, IdentityHawk guides members through the steps they need to take protective measures.

Said Paradise, “The reality is that consumers may have information that can be illegally accessed due to an enterprise breach. Being alerted to relevant breaches allows consumers to have control of their information before a criminal seizes it.”

About IdentityHawk

IdentityHawk is a leading identity protection service that aggressively zeroes in on potential threats to help consumers safeguard their identity. Members are warned of potential identity risks so they can take steps to stop fraud before it starts. IdentityHawk is a product of FYI Direct, Inc., a leader in direct-to-consumer credit and identity protection services. For more information, go to www.identityhawk.com.