Skip to main content

NY loses over $1 billion due to 2013 data breaches, state attorney general says

Remember the huge data breach that afflicted Target and its customers last year? Well, that, along with other such incidents, cost the state of New York dearly.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a report indicating that as a result of data breaches, 7.3 million records were exposed last year alone. The attacks cost New Yorkers roughly $1.37 billion in damages. On top of that, between 2006 and 2013,  22.8 million personal records were compromised.

Recommended Videos

According to the report, unauthorized hacks were the leading cause of these data breaches and accounted for about 40 percent of the incidents. Schneiderman’s report says the “massive number of affected New Yorkers in 2013 was largely driven by two retail mega-breaches at Target and Living Social.”

“As we increasingly share our personal information with stores, restaurants, health care providers, and other organizations, we should be able to enjoy the benefits of new technology without putting ourselves at risk,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “Moving forward, I will advocate for collaboration between industry and security experts to ensure that organizations across the state and country have access to the tools needed to secure our data, so we can best address this complex and growing problem.”

Stolen credit card numbers can bring in up to $45 each on the black market, while Social Security numbers and other types of personal data can command even more cash.

In his report, Schneiderman urges both ordinary people and the business community to step up their efforts to protect themselves. Tips he offers include encryption, strong passwords, and much more.

It will be interesting to see how 2014 will shake out on the hacking and related damages fronts. We can only hope that businesses and consumers are taking as many steps as possible to safeguard their data.

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Computing Editor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
Topics
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more
Early Prime Day deal: Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G3 at its annual low price
Samsung Odyssey G3 gaming monitor on desk with keyboard and headset.

If you're ready to upgrade your monitor, this Samsung deal over at Amazon just might be your best bet. The 27-inch version of Samsung's Odyssey G3 is $130 right now, a full $100 off its regular $230 price and its lowest price of the year. It's a part of early Prime Day deals and a good sampling of what we can expect for the shopping holiday, which officially lands on July 8th. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why we like this deal and why this should be your next monitor.

Buy Now

Read more