A Chronology of Data Breaches: The data breaches noted below have been reported because the personal information compromised includes data elements useful to identity thieves, such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and driver's license numbers. Some breaches that do NOT expose such sensitive information have been included in order to underscore the variety and frequency of data breaches. However, we have not included the number of records involved in such breaches in the total because we want this compilation to reflect breaches that expose individuals to identity theft as well as breaches that qualify for disclosure under state laws. The breaches posted below include only those reported in the United States and does not include incidents in other countries.

What does the Total Number indicate?

The running total we maintain at the end of the Chronology represents the approximate number of *records* that have been compromised due to security breaches, not necessarily the number of *individuals* affected. Breaches for specific years are noted below -- 2005, 2006, and 2007. Some individuals may be the victims of more than one breach, which would affect the totals.

In reality, the number given below should be much larger. For many of the breaches listed, the number of records is unknown.

(Read Original Article - Via Privacy Rights Clearinghouse/UCAN. .)