I have a lot of conversations that start with “Did you hear about the big data breach?” My response is typically: “Which one?”, because there are just so many of them. I honestly can’t keep track of all of them. Data breaches are, sadly, common, and there’s very little we can do to prevent them.
What should you do about data breaches, if there’s no prevention? Data breaches lead to account and identity theft, so you are looking to guard against those hazards. Here are the standard recommendations:
- Keep an eye on your credit reports
- Freeze your credit with the 3 big credit agencies
- Lock your SSN.
- File your taxes early
- Watch all revolving accounts for unexpected/mystery charges
- Consider & discuss the value of credit monitoring services with your bank or financial advisor
- Avoid password reuse, set a unique password for each and every account
- Enable 2FA where possible
- Remain skeptical towards any unexpected emails/phone calls/texts and do not give out personal information if your spidey sense is tingling.
I wish I had more advice, but for now, we just have to hang on. For some perspective, I’ll be listing out (and adding future) noteworthy data breaches below. Note the recent National Public Data breach, as it probably affects every American and involved our addresses and SSNs. At this point, everyone should presume their info is on a list out there on the dark web.
Notable American Data Breaches
| Company Name | First Reported | Number Affected | Relevant Links |
| PowerSchool | January 2025 | 827,000??? | Link, Link, Link, Link |
| Ascension | December 2024 | 5,559,699 | Link, Link, Link |
| ConnectOnCall | December 2024 | 914,000 | Link, Link |
| Rhode Island State Government | December 2024 | 100,000+ | Link, Link, Link, Link |
| Andrew Tate’s Real World | November 2024 | 800M | Link, Link, Link |
| Pure Incubation | November 2024 | 122M | Link, Link |
| Hot Topic | November 2024 | 54M | Link, Link |
| Internet Archive | October 2024 | 31M | Link, Link |
| Landmark Admin | October 2024 | 800,000 | Link, Link |
| Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Svcs | September 2024 | 3.1M | Link, Link |
| MC2 Data | September 2024 | 100,000 | Link, Link |
| Toyota | August 2024 | ??? | Link, Link, Link |
| National Public Data | August 2024 | 2.9B | Link, Link, Link, Link |
| City of Columbus, OH | July 2024 | 500,000 | Link, Link, Link, Link, Link |
| AT&T | July 2024 | 73M | Link, Link, Link |
| UnitedHealth / Change Healthcare | July 2024 | 100M? | Link, Link, Link |
| TicketMaster | June 2024 | 560M | Link, Link |
| Advance Auto Parts | June 2024 | 380M | Link |
| Life360 / Tile | June 2024 | 450,000 | Link |
| Christie’s | May 2024 | 500M | Link, Link |
| Financial Business & Consumer Solutions | April 2024 | 4.2M | Link, Link, Link |
| Dell | April 2024 | 49M | Link, Link, Link |
| Virginia Farm Bureau | February 2024 | 261,187 | Link, Link |
| Xfinity | December 2023 | 35M | Link, Link, Link |
| Real Estate Wealth Network | December 2023 | 1.5B | Link, Link |
| MOVEit | June 2023 | 11.3M | Link, Link, Link |
| Cash App | April 2022 | 8M | Link, Link |
| Red Cross | January 2022 | 515,000 | Link, Link |
| Twitch | October 2021 | ??? | Link, Link, Link |
| Marriott International | November 2018 | 500M | Link, Link, Link |
| Equifax | September 2017 | 163M | Link |