Analyzing Data Breach Trends and Insights: Exploring the PRC’s Role in Cybersecurity Research

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) provides data breach information in the United States. Users can view breaches by the Key Insights Timeline, Category, State, or chronological order. Researchers can use this information to analyze trends, assess impacts, or conduct case studies. By performing a trend analysis, researchers may identify which sectors are at the highest risk for cyber-attacks. For example, since 2002, the Business – Manufacturing, Technology, Communication, and Other (BSO) Sector have had the highest number of breaches at 11,227. If we zoom into breaches in the last year (9/29/2022 -9/28/2023), the Business – Financial Services, Banking, and Insurance Services (BSF) have the most breaches, surpassing BSO by 129 attacks. Further analysis may show a trend of cyber attacks towards the BSO sector. The PRC website also provides information about the impact when available. Researchers can use this information to analyze the types of breaches businesses should be most vigilant against. The BSF Sector, for example, has many more hacking breaches than stationary computer losses. Further examination may give companies insight into where to focus their cybersecurity budgets. Finally, researchers can conduct in-depth case studies by following the state links provided by the PRC website. Researchers may be able to find out what led a person to conduct a breach. Sociological insights may guide investigators to identify critical categories of concern, like socioeconomic status or occupation of the attackers.