The number of Britons whose financial data was hacked last year rose by a staggering 1,800 per cent.
More than 42million people in the UK were affected by data breaches – up from 2.2million the previous year.
The huge rise comes as criminal gangs have ramped up their use of large-scale ‘ransomware’ attacks.
Scamdemic: More than 42m people in the UK were affected by data breaches – up from 2.2m the previous year
These use malicious software that is designed to block a computer unless cash is paid.
Ransomware attacks potentially involve huge amount of data being copied.
Richard Breavington, a partner at international law firms Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), which published the analysis, said such attacks have become very ‘lucrative’ for cyber-criminals.
The 42million figure may include individuals whose details were stolen in multiple separate attacks, RPC said.
Businesses, who have been urged to double down on efforts to protect the storage of personal data of customers and employees, should invest in robust IT security software, RPC said.
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