The Open Security Foundation feels that there is a distinct need to
provide unbiased, high quality information regarding data loss
incidents. We believe that we can improve awareness of data security
and identity theft threats to consumers and also provide accurate
statistics to organizations to assist them in decision making.
We provide charts and statistics on our statistics page based
on the current dataset maintained. If you have a particular need for
additional information, analysis or would like to discuss further on a
specific topic please contact us at
[email protected] and we will determine if we can
support your request. Please include a summary of what specific
information you require and how you plan to use this information.
Please note that due to resource contraints we are not able to support
all requests.
If you are looking for custom information or detailed analysis we
recommend that you contact Risk Based Security to
support your need for analytics. Risk Based Security was established
to better support the research conducted by the Open Security
Foundation (OSF), by using technology to turn security data into a
competitive advantage. OSF's wealth of historical data, combined with
Risk Based Security's proprietary database provides interactive
dashboards, predictive analysis, consulting services and risk
analytics to offer companies comprehensive insight into data security
threats most relevant to their industry.

| Short Name | Description |
| Disposal Computer | Discovery of computers not disposed of properly |
| Disposal Document | Discovery of documents not disposed of properly |
| Disposal Tape | Discovery of backup tapes not disposed of properly |
| Disposal Drive | Discovery of disk drives not disposed of properly |
| Disposal Mobile | Discovery of data on a mobile phone or device such as tablets, etc |
| Email | Email communication exposed to unintended third party |
| Fax | Fax communication exposed to unintended third party |
| Fraud Se | Fraud or scam (usually insider-related), social engineering |
| Hack | Computer-based intrusion, data may or may not be publically exposed |
| Lost Computer | Lost computer (unspecified type in media reports) |
| Lost Document | Discovery of documents not disposed of properly through loss (not theft) |
| Lost Drive | Lost data drive, unspecified if IDE, SCSI, thumb drive, etc) |
| Lost Laptop | Lost laptop (generally specified as a laptop in media reports) |
| Lost Media | Media (i.e. disks) reported to have been lost by a third party |
| Lost Mobile | Lost mobile phone or device such as tablets, etc (unspecified in media reports) |
| Lost Tape | Lost backup tapes |
| Missing Document | Missing document, unknown or disputed whether lost or stolen |
| Missing Drive | Missing drive, unknown or disputed whether lost or stolen |
| Missing Laptop | Missing laptop, unknown or disputed whether lost or stolen |
| Missing Media | Missing media, unknown or disputed whether lost or stolen
|
| Seizure | Exposure of information due to the action of confiscating or impounding data either with or without a warrant |
| Skimming | Theft of credit or bank card information by using a small undetected electronic device (skimmer) that victim's card and banking data when swiped. |
| Snail Mail | Personal information in "snail mail" exposed to unintended third party |
| Snooping | Employee exceeding intended privileges and accessing confidential records they were not authorized to view |
| Stolen Computer | Stolen desktop (or unspecified computer type in media reports) |
| Stolen Document | Documents either reported or known to have been stolen by a third party |
| Stolen Drive | Stolen data drive, unspecified if IDE, SCSI, thumb drive, etc) |
| Stolen Laptop | Stolen Laptop (generally specified as a laptop in media reports) |
| Stolen Media | Media (disks or other) generally reported or known to have been stolen by a third party |
| Stolen Mobile | Stolen mobile phone or device such as tablets, etc |
| Stolen Tape | Stolen backup tapes |
| Unknown | Unknown or unreported breach type |
| Virus | Exposure to personal information via virus or trojan (i.e. keystroke logger, possibly classified as hack) |
| Web | Data typically available to the general public via search engines, public pages, etc. |