North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein recently released the Department of Justice’s 2022 Data Breach Report. The report details information about the nearly 3 million North Carolinians who were affected by the 1,900 data breaches reported to DOJ last year. The report was released in late January ahead of Data Privacy Day, which was January 28. Businesses and government agencies are required by law to report data breaches to the Department of Justice. The 3,095,656 North Carolinians affected last year is the second highest number of people ever affected in a single year in the state. Hacking and phishing scams caused nearly 90 percent of breaches in 2022. Criminals often use phishing and hacking scams to infect systems and networks with ransomware. Ransomware, in turn, made up 45 percent of reported breaches. To avoid hacking and phishing scams, the following suggestions have been offered: don’t open emails, click links, or download.
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