Updating a previous post regarding the rise last year in the number of data breaches involving customers’ personal information in the general business sector, the numbers of these breaches for the first third of 2010 reflect a similarly troubling trend. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), the total number of reported data breaches as of today stands at 245, or nearly half of the 498 total breaches reported for the entire year in 2009. The general business sector (not including companies in the more heavily-regulated financial and medical sectors) continues to experience the highest percentage of these data breaches, with a reported 38.8% of reported breaches thus far this year. These statistics underscore the urgency with which your company should act to ensure that adequate measures are in place to protect private data, or risk being subject to costly litigation. Stay tuned for further updates as additional data becomes available.

UPDATE: Data Breaches on the Rise in 2010