InfoWatch Provides Insight on Global Data Leaks in 2013

TheSamaritan

Over 1140 leaks reported, 561 million records compromised with damages estimated at US$7.79billion

InfoWatch, a global market leader in Data Leakage Protection solutions, has issued its ‘Global Data Leakage’ report for 2013, here, today.

According to the report, 1143 leaks of confidential information were recorded and reported in the media in 2013, with an estimated 561 million records compromised, including financial and personal data across multiple sectors.

Damages such as eliminating the consequences from leakage, investigations, legal proceedings and compensation payments incurred by companies as a result of data leaks amounted to US$7.79 billion.

The report is based on InfoWatch's own database, which has been updated since 2004 that covers information leaks which have occurred in organisations as a result of the inadvertent or intentional actions of employees, and which have been reported in the media or other publicly available sources.

The InfoWatch Analytical Center provides a comprehensive analysis of confidential information leaks which makes it possible to estimate the level of data protection in various industries, and compare the overall picture of data leaks between mature and emerging markets in terms of Information Security regulations.

Based on the report, there were 22% more data leaks in 2013 compared to 2012, despite growing legislation aimed at ensuring better regulation of data and data protection such as the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Malaysia, late last year.

Not surprisingly, approximately 85% of information leaks involved personal data.

The leaks occurring in state and municipal organisations worldwide continued to be high at 31% with state organisations and medical institutions reported to be the main source of personal data leaks.

The introduction of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Malaysia last year has seen InfoWatch aggressively marketing its products here.

Based on information reported in the media, the US occupied first place in terms of the number of global data leaks, with 679 reported last year. Russia was in second place with 134 registered leaks, followed by the United Kingdom with 80 leaks.

The report statistics show that the biggest share of accidental leaks occurs via traditional channels such as mail, email, paper documentation, theft and loss of equipment.

The proportion reported occurring via new channels such as mobile voice and video devices remains negligible.

Natalya Kaspersky, Chief Executive Officer of InfoWatch Group of Companies, commented, “InfoWatch has compiled global data leakage information since 2004 to help organisation understand the nature of information security threats and to apply the required protection solutions. Organizations in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region as a whole need to invest more in security solutions and regulations with the huge amount of data flow and business investments here.”

Organizations worldwide have become more interested in protecting their own information and their attitudes have also changed towards using data protection solutions. Technical solutions are applied not only to meet the requirements of regulators, but to actually safeguard information. As a result, it allows organizations to detect leaks, determine their type, and identify the perpetrators more efficiently.

The global data leakage report can be found at: http://infowatch.com/analytics/reports/3641.