We can predict the future - breach researchers amazing claim

Fourteen data breaches will, over the next year, each expose one million or more records to potential use by criminals. And, at least one breach of over 10 million records will affect nearly five percent of the US population. 

That's the claim made by Voltage Security, which has produced a visual map tracking US and global data breach incidents. The map provides an at-a-glance view that summarises  historical and real-time breaches, size and scope, types of records, regions affected, industry and more.

The analysis, which you can read about in more detail in this paper, shows that while there is a constant low-level stream of incidents, there are epidemic like qualities to the breaches, ie you can model the incident data to the point where it's possible to predict the magnitude and frequency of future breaches.

Visual maps of viral outbreaks have existed for some time and provide a useful means of illustrating threats and trends. In creating its own data breach index map, Voltage is hoping to do the same for the new frontier of large-scale data theft.

It will be interesting to follow the analysis over time and see just how useful this approach is in raising awareness and heading off any future threats.