INDIANAPOLIS — A new report reveals a record number of data breaches in 2025.
The Identity Theft Resource Center, a national nonprofit, released its 2025 Annual Data Breach report on Thursday.
It shows the number of data compromises in 2025 (3,322) increased by five percentage points compared to 2024 (3,152).
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The ITRC set a new record for the number of data compromises tracked in a year, up four percentage points from the previous all-time high (3,202).
WRTV Investigates spoke with James Lee, President at the Identity Theft Resource Center.
“The bad guys are getting better at targeting,” said Lee. “At the end of the day, it’s all about money.”
Lee said another trend the report found is a decline in transparency.
“What we’ve seen the past few years is less and less information in these legally required data breach notices,” said Lee. “It’s to the point where 70% don’t have any information to actually act on it."
Actionable transparency fell from 93 percent in 2021 to 30 percent in 2025, according to the report.
In 2025, the Financial Services was the most breached industry (739 compromises), followed by Healthcare (534 compromises), Professional Services (478 compromises), Manufacturing (299 compromises) and Education (188 compromises).
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“Consumers must move from reacting to acting,” Lee continued. “Freezing your credit and transitioning to passkeys are the foundational requirements for digital safety. Businesses should prioritize transparency over liability mitigation.”
Lee also emphasized the importance of using Multi Factor Authentication, using a password manager and setting your systems to update automatically.
“Choose who you do business with and if you don’t like their answer, find someone who will protect your personal information,” said Lee.
