The number of reported data breaches involving consumer personal information is tracking to exceed the prior year’s record, according to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center. In the first half of 2026, more than 471 million victim notices were associated with data compromises, compared with 297.5 million notices issued throughout 2025. A single incident at education tool Canvas accounted for over half of the first-half total at 275 million notices.
The frequency of incidents has also accelerated. The ITRC documented 1,803 breaches in the first six months of 2026, up from 1,732 during the same period in 2025. If the second half of the year maintains similar activity levels, the final tally could surpass the 3,321 incidents reported for the entire previous year. James Lee, president of the ITRC, noted that the upward trajectory shows no signs of abating despite increased corporate investment in cybersecurity measures.
Artificial intelligence is playing an expanding role in enabling these breaches. Between March 2025 and February 2026, one in four data breaches involved AI-enabled techniques, representing a 56 percent increase from the prior year, according to research from IBM. Additionally, malicious insider incidents surged significantly, with 21 events occurring in the first half of 2026 compared to just three for all of 2025. These insider attacks have included disgruntled employees exfiltrating data and, in some cases, remote workers placed by foreign actors using stolen identities and AI-generated credentials.
Despite cybersecurity ranking as a top priority for most organizations, consumer notification practices have become less transparent. Only 24 percent of breach notices sent in the first half of 2026 included specific details about the incidents, a sharp decline from 93 percent in 2021. Lee attributed this partly to legal considerations, as companies may be providing only the minimum information required by varying state regulations. Experts recommend consumers protect themselves through credit monitoring, fraud alerts, and credit freezes to prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened in their names.
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