California Reports 49 Million Records Breached in Four Years

More than 49 million personal information records of California residents were compromised in 657 data breaches from 2012 to 2015, state Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a report citing tips on how people and businesses can protect themselves.

Harris issued the report Tuesday as she spoke on the subject at a conference at Stanford University. The retail sector accounted for 24 percent of companies whose data was breached, while 18 percent of intrusions were reported by financial firms, according to the report. Social Security numbers, payment card data and medical information were the top three types of data stolen over the past four years, according to Harris.