As defenses and insurance coverages against cybercrime improve, so do the methods and the frequency of cybercriminals, it seems.  That only makes the battle more important than ever.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that, according to 2018 Identity Fraud: Fraud Enters a New Era of Complexity from Javelin Strategy & Research, 2017 saw 16.7 million victims of identity fraud, a record high that followed a previous record the year before. Criminals are engaging in complex identity fraud schemes that are leaving record numbers of victims of cybercrime in their wake. The amount stolen hit $16.8 billion last year as 30 percent of U.S. consumers were notified of a data breach last year, an increase of 12 percent from 2016. For the first time, more Social Security numbers were exposed than credit card numbers.Cyberattacks and breaches have grown in frequency, and losses are on the rise. Breaches again hit a new record in 2017, with 1,579 breaches tracked, up 44.7 percent from 1,091 in 2016, as business and government entities move toward timely reporting, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The number of records exposed rose to about 179 million, compared with 37 million in 2016. The majority of the data breaches in 2017 affected the business sector, with 870 breaches or 55 percent of the total.The business category has suffered the most breaches for the third year in a row. Medical/healthcare organizations were affected by 374 breaches (23.7 percent of total breaches). The banking/credit/financial sector ranked third as it sustained 134 breaches (8.5 percent of all breaches). These figures do not include the many attacks that go unreported and undetected.In 2018 the ITRC tracked 522 breaches through the month of May. The number of records exposed totaled 17.6 million. The business category continues to be the most affected sector, with 228 breaches, or 44 percent of all breaches detected. The business sector breaches affected 10.9 million records, or 62 percent of all records affected. The ITRC noted that in May 2018, hacking was the most commonly used method for breaching organizations, accounting for 37 percent of all breaches in that month.The team of professionals at The Reschini Group can help you create a cybersecurity insurance package to protect your assets, even amid these complex and serious trends.

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Copyright 2018 The Reschini Group The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.[Source: https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-identity-theft-and-cybercrime ]