Data Broker Breaches Cost Americans $20.9B in Identity Theft
Congressional report reveals four major data broker breaches drove billions in consumer losses over the past decade.
American consumers got hammered to the tune of $20.9 billion in identity theft losses tied to just four major data broker breaches over the past decade. That's the headline finding from a new US Congressional Joint Economic Committee report.
The investigation was sparked by a WIRED report that exposed how data brokers were deliberately hiding their opt-out pages — making it nearly impossible for consumers to protect their own information. Congressional Democrats picked up the thread and ran with it.
The $20.9 billion figure represents nominal losses, meaning the real cost adjusted for inflation is likely even uglier. Four breaches. Billions in damage. And the companies responsible made it actively harder for people to opt out of having their data collected and sold.
The findings add fresh fuel to the growing push for tighter regulation of the data broker industry.