Data incidents impact nearly 50M citizens

Anyone tracking tech and business news the past year is well versed in the increasing volume of data thefts and losses. But many will be surprised to learn the actual victim impact: Over 49 million U.S. citizens have been alerted in the past three years that their personal data has either been lost or compromised, according to a new study from Harris Interactive. The government and public sector leads the pack in the data incidents, as 48 percent of effected citizens were informed of a data issue by a government agency. Financial companies accounted for 29 percent of incidences while private companies reported a further 12 percent. The good news is that 81 percent of people have not experienced any financial or credit impact.

For more on the extent of data losses:
- read the report at TechWeb