More reported data breaches this year

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. businesses, universities and government agencies have reported more thefts of personal data so far this year than in all of 2007, a report says.

The Identity Theft Resource Center, a San Diego group that reported the statistics, said it is unsure if reporting is better or if the number of data breaches has actually increased, the Washington Post said. In 2008, the center has recorded 449 incidents, while there were 446 in 2007.

Last year, there were 127 million personal records stolen, with 90 million of them taken from TJX, the company that owns the T.J. Maxx stores.

Linda Foley, founder of the center, said that 22 million records have been reported stolen this year. But she said many companies report breaches of security without reporting how many records have been compromised.

Some companies are also unaware that their security has been breached, Foley said.