2020 — Year in review
Years are assigned by disclosure date, falling back to discovery, then occurrence date.
Breach Census recorded 2,517 confirmed incidents in 2020. That is up from 1,986 in 2019, a rise of 531 incidents (26.7%). Incidents are assigned to a year by disclosure date, falling back to discovery, then occurrence date, and totals for the most recent years can still grow as new sources are confirmed and published.
Technology was the most common sector, with 16 of the 68 incidents that had a sector assigned. The most common attack type among incidents with one recorded was Ransomware Attack, in 117 incidents.
Regulators issued fines totaling 2,679,000 EUR across 6 actions in 2020. The most-reported jurisdictions were US-MA (1,898), US-CA (319), and US-WA (203).
Regulator fines by currency
Totals are not summed across currencies.
| Currency | Actions | Total |
|---|---|---|
| EUR | 6 | 2,679,000 EUR |
By sector
| Sector | Confirmed incidents |
|---|---|
| Unclassified | 2,449 |
| Technology | 16 |
| Finance | 12 |
| Healthcare | 8 |
| Manufacturing | 7 |
| Retail | 5 |
| Insurance | 4 |
| Education | 3 |
| Pharma | 3 |
| Transport | 3 |
| Media | 2 |
| Hospitality | 2 |
| Real Estate | 1 |
| Energy | 1 |
| Professional Services | 1 |
Top jurisdictions
| Jurisdiction | Confirmed incidents |
|---|---|
| US-MA | 1,898 |
| US-CA | 319 |
| US-WA | 203 |
| US-IA | 62 |
| US-DE | 29 |
| US-WI | 6 |
Questions and answers
How many confirmed data breaches were disclosed in 2020?
Breach Census recorded 2,517 confirmed data breach incidents for 2020, assigned by disclosure date, falling back to discovery, then occurrence date.
Which sector reported the most breaches in 2020?
Technology reported the most confirmed breaches in 2020, with 16 of the 68 incidents that had a sector assigned.