(Washington, D.C.) The 2010 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, now available to
the public, provides an expanded view of data breaches over the last six years. In the first-ofits-
kind collaboration, the Secret Service contributed data to Verizon Business’s vast research
effort, and the resulting report and in-depth analysis incorporates data from 900-plus
breaches involving more than 900 million compromised records.
"The Secret Service believes that building trusted partnerships between all levels of law
enforcement, the private sector and academia is the right model for facing the challenges of
securing cyberspace,” said U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director of Investigations Michael
Merritt. “It is through such vast and established partnerships that the Secret Service is able to
help expand the collective understanding of breaches and continue to augment our advanced
detection and prevention efforts.”
As the report outlines, today’s global economy has streamlined commerce for both
corporations and consumers. Because financial institutions and systems are readily accessible
worldwide, today’s financial and cybercriminals have adapted similarly, and seek to exploit
this international dependence on information technology. Cybercriminals consequently have
become experts at stealing stored data, data in transit and encrypted data. They operate based
on trust, long standing criminal relationships, high levels of operational security and
reliability.
To combat these emerging threats, the Secret Service has adopted a multi-faceted approach to
aggressively combating cyber and computer related crimes. By establishing a network of 29
Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTF), including the first international ECTF located in
Rome, Italy, 38 Financial Crimes Task Forces (FCTF) and a Cyber Investigations Branch,
the Secret Service is able to better detect, prevent and aggressively investigate electronic
crimes. Plans are currently underway for a second overseas ECTF to be announced this year.
In fiscal year 2009, agents assigned to Secret Service offices across the United States arrested
more than 5,800 suspects for financial crimes violations.
The partnership between the Secret Service and Verizon Business for the Data Breach
Investigations Report illustrates the lasting benefits of collaboration between the private
sector and federal law enforcement in combating crime.
To view the report in its entirety, visit www.secretservice.gov (under “Downloads” in the
“Press Room” section) or www.verizonbusiness.com/Thinkforward/.
About the United States Secret Service
Well known for protecting the nation’s leaders, the U.S. Secret Service also is responsible for
protecting America’s financial infrastructure. The Secret Service has taken a lead role in
mitigating the threat of financial crimes since the agency’s inception in 1865. As technology
has evolved, the scope of the U.S. Secret Service’s mission has expanded from its original
counterfeit currency investigations to also include emerging financial crimes. As a
component agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret
Service has established successful partnerships in both the law enforcement and business
communities – across the country and around the world – in order to effectively combat
financial crimes.