--- title: Data Breaches Hit Nearly Half of U.S. Companies in the Past Year description: Treading on the heels of the Home Depot's announcement that 56 million credit and debit cards were jeopardized last week, new research shows that 43 percent of U.S. companies experienced a data breach in the past year. That’s a 10 percent increase from the previous year. canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/data-breaches-hit-nearly-half-us-companies-past-year/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # Data Breaches Hit Nearly Half of U.S. Companies in the Past Year Treading on the heels of the Home Depot's announcement that 56 million credit and debit cards were jeopardized last week, new research shows that 43 percent of U.S. companies experienced a data breach in the past year. That’s a 10 percent increase from the previous year. [Learn More](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cyber-protect/) [![Image 2: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/ "Acronis Editorial Team") [Acronis Editorial Team](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/) 2 min read Last updated 23 October 2022 Treading on the heels of the Home Depot's announcement that 56 million credit and debit cards were jeopardized last week, new research shows that 43 percent of U.S. companies experienced a data breach in the past year. That’s a 10 percent increase from the previous year. The annual survey from the Ponemon Institute, released Wednesday, found that the size of these incidents is also on the rise. Despite the indications that breaches have become a way of life, companies remain ill-prepared to protect their data. "While more organizations have data breach preparedness on their radar and have developed a response plan, a majority of companies are not putting the support and resources behind having it truly be effective," Michael Bruemmer, vice president of Experian Data Breach Resolution, tells Fast Company. The study calls employees the “weakest link” when it comes to vulnerability to hackers and suggests that companies develop and continuously update response plans for data breaches. (via Fast Company) ## Must Reads This Week: Public sector needs centralized CIO: For the federal government to transition its technology from 1960s era systems to 21st century capabilities, it needs a “rock star CIO.” That’s exactly what Vivek Kundra, the first federal CIO, wants to be called. Research from InformationWeek shows that the public sector needs a centralized CIO to guide overall strategy and pick the right people to implement policies. (via InformationWeek) Data overload leads to bottlenecks: As volumes of data grow unabated, the amount of information can put strains on technology resources. These “data bottlenecks” make it more difficult and time-consuming for users to access the information they need. For companies to build storage systems for high performance, they’ll need to pinpoint where these bottlenecks can occur, says Thomas Pavel, EMEA storage sales director at Avago Technologies. (via TechRadar) Couch-potato workers need data security, too: Working from home might sound awesome at first (pajamas and soap operas every day, anyone?), but the set up isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Employees don’t have IT support down the hall, for instance. Fortunately, technology helps them back up work from any location. (via [BuzzFeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/acronis/nine-reasons-working-from-home-isnat-all-itas-iidh)) Image via Can Stock Photo [Cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cybersecurity/) [Cyber protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection/) ## Written by ![Image 3: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png) Acronis Editorial Team Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. [Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/rising-popularity-wearables-data-protection-hiccups-remain/) [With Rising Popularity of Wearables, Data Protection Hiccups Remain](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/rising-popularity-wearables-data-protection-hiccups-remain/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/data-breaches-breed-loyalty-program-distrust-among-consumers/) [Data Breaches Breed Loyalty Program Distrust Among Consumers](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/data-breaches-breed-loyalty-program-distrust-among-consumers/) About Acronis Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=acronis.com) ## Related stories Want to learn more? Read the latest stories featuring this solution on our blog. [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) ![Image 4: stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/9600f3eea83b8f4e168ea6c1409c8c26.png) [stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/stc-bahrain-and-acronis-partner-to-bring-endpoint-security-to-businesses/) We are proud to announce a strategic partnership with stc Bahrain, expanding access to advanced cybersecurity services for businesses across Bahrain. **October 26, 2026**3 min read ![Image 5: Introducing New Acronis CEO: Prakash Panjwani](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/30cb571f6f1aaa131733e5727a4a250c.png) [Introducing New Acronis CEO: Prakash Panjwani](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/introducing-new-acronis-ceo-prakash-panjwani/) We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive Officer, Prakash Panjwani. A veteran cybersecurity CEO, Panjwani previously served as CEO of WatchGuard Technologies and SafeNet. **October 15, 2026**2 min read ![Image 6: Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/18e90e89f5ec4ef0901f19008d4ccbf2.png) [Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-expands-mdr-toward-broader-workspace-protection/) Acronis is expanding the MDR service with capabilities that make this expertise easier to deliver and help partners address more risks. The developments build on a broader commitment to managed security: helping service providers protect the connected workspace while giving customers access to the expertise needed to investigate threats, respond effectively and maintain business continuity. **October 13, 2026**6 min read