In just the first ten months of 2022, there were over 15 million global data records either exposed, leaked, lost, or stolen. On nearly every continent, there is a record of data loss, and it affects every country on our planet in one way or another. Nearly two thirds of all global data losses have occurred in the United States, with America housing over 60% of all records lost or stolen to date.
On a state by state basis in the U.S., states like California, Oregon, Georgia, Maryland, and Virginia are the most affected by data loss. However, nearly every state nationwide has experienced thousands if not millions of records of data loss. Some of the major causes of this breach in security is due to human error, the use of malware, or unexpected events like glitches or even natural disasters. To make matters worse, countries are not the only entities affected by data loss, as retailers have also reported an increase in the size and severity of cyberattacks against them.
The industries currently most affected by data loss are the finance, healthcare, public administration, manufacturing, and transportation industries. Throughout history, data has also been lost at a large scale, with one of the most famous examples being the destruction of the library of Alexandria in 48BC. Humans lost an estimated 571.4GB of data during this disaster, showing truly the magnitude and severity of any form of data loss, old or new.
Experts all agree that data loss is a global and historical certainty, and it is up to us to keep ourselves and our organizations protected from potential harm with airtight solutions.
