Data Breach Week in Review

This week’s reported data breaches are both big in name and in scale. It’s really hard to find a story that tops 5 million Gmail credential leaks, but Home Depot apparently lost 12 times that. There is a clear need for the improvement of data security, and it couldn’t come any sooner.

5 million Gmail Credentials leaked

Technically this is not a data breach, because Gmail’s system was not hacked into. The usernames and passwords were probably obtained through other sources, like other websites or phishing schemes. It’s still big news though, because it’s five million Gmail credentials.

Bartell Hotels Breach Affects 40,000 Customers

The Accommodation industry is the third-most often hit by data breaches, so it’s no surprise to hear that another hotel has been hit by a data breach. Bartell Hotels, a San Diego hotel chain, warned customers to remain vigilant by reviewing their account statements, and monitoring their credit reports for suspicious activity.

While this breach is dwarfed by the sheer size of the other two breaches this week, when you think about it, 40,000 stolen credentials is nothing to sneeze at.

Home Depot Data Breach Could Be the Largest Yet

Possibly the biggest breach of the year, or maybe even of all time to hit a retail company’s computer network. The number tally isn’t final right now, but most sources are saying that it could total up to 60 million lost cards.

Keep an eye out for more on the Home Depot situation, because it’s bound to be a fast-moving story.