The folks at informationisbeautiful.net once again prove their name with a fascinating and elegant infographic exploring data breaches. The graphic, linked here, shows breaches by year, method of leak, quantity of records stolen and data sensitivity. It is fully interactive, allowing you to filter by a surprising number of variables. DISCLAIMER: If you spend the rest of the day playing around with this graphic PLUS Blog is not responsible.

The data is really cool, and we found the most interesting (and perhaps least surprising) element the significant increase in frequency of data breaches from 2004 to present.

For much more on privacy and data security issues don’t miss the PLUS Cyber Liability Symposium, April 24 and 25 in Atlanta.