Global data breach identity theft causes 2016

Published by
Ani Petrosyan,
Jan 9, 2024
The statistic presents the leading causes of data breaches worldwide in 2016, sorted by share of identities exposed. In the most recently reported period, theft of data accounted for 91.6 percent of data breaches that resulted in stolen identities.

Leading causes of data breaches worldwide in 2016, by share of identities exposed

CharacteristicShare of data breaches
Theft of data 91.6%
Phishing, spoofing, or social engineering 6.4%
Accidental data loss 1%
IT errors leading to data loss 0.9%
Network disruption of DDoS* 0.1%
Improper use of data* 0.1%
Loss of theft of device* 0.1%
Unclassified or other cause* 0.1%
Extortion, blackmail, or disruption* 0.1%
Identity theft or fraud 0%
Showing entries 1 to 10 (10 entries in total)
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Share of data breaches91.6%91.6%6.4%6.4%1%1%0.9%0.9%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0%0%Theft of dataPhishing, spoofing,or socialengineeringAccidental datalossIT errors leading todata lossNetwork disruptionof DDoS*Improper use ofdata*Loss of theft ofdevice*Unclassified orother cause*Extortion,blackmail, ordisruption*Identity theft orfraud
0%20%40%60%80%100%120%

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Release date

April 2017

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

2016

Supplementary notes

*Less than 1 percent

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