The ESI Year in Review - 2008 examines all of the information security incidents occurring at colleges and universities around the world as reported in the news during 2008.

The security incidents reported in 2008 continued many of the trends seen in 2007. More colleges and universities reported suffering more security incidents. In fact, the total number of institutions suffering security incidents outnumbers the total number of incidents in 2008 due to several incidents affecting more than one institution. Another common trend continued from 2007 was that employee mistakes continue to be the leading cause of reported information security incidents.

Here is a sample of the information contained in the Educational Security Incidents (ESI) Year in Review - 2008:

• Total Number of Incidents: 173, a 24.5% increase over 2007
• Total Number of Institutions Affected: 178, a 59% increase over 2007
• Total Number of Incidents by Type:
  • Employee Fraud: 10
  • Impersonation: 4
  • Loss: 9
  • Penetration: 35
  • Theft: 40
  • Unauthorized Disclosure: 75

Most Current Version is the August 16, 2009 Update with corrections to two incident with incorrect attributions. See Errata section of Year in Review for full details.

Click on the attachment below to download the full Year in Review.