U.S. companies and government agencies suffered a record 1,093 data breaches last year, a 40 percent increase from 2015, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Headline-grabbing hacks, with victims ranging from Wendy's Co. to the Democratic National Committee, are increasing despite regulatory scrutiny and more aggressive cybersecurity spending. Worldwide spending on security-related hardware, software and services rose to $73.7 billion in 2016 from $68.2 billion a year earlier, according to researcher IDC. And that number is expected to approach $90 billion in 2018.

"We are extremely confident that breaches are undiscovered and under-reported, and we don't know the full scope," Eva Casey Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said in an interview. "This isn't the worst-case scenario we are looking at; this is the best-case scenario."

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical Treasury & Risk information including in-depth analysis of treasury and finance best practices, case studies with corporate innovators, informative newsletters, educational webcasts and videos, and resources from industry leaders.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and Treasury & Risk events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including PropertyCasualty360.com and Law.com.
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.