Apple-backed study finds rise in data breaches as iPhone maker defends encryption stance

FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen at the entrance to the Apple store in Brussels, Belgium November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

(Reuters) - In the first nine months of 2023, U.S. data breaches increased by 20% compared to the full year 2022, according to a new study that was commissioned by Apple.

The iPhone maker paid for the study, which was conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Stuart E. Madnick, about a year after it rolled out a new feature to expand end-to-end encryption for data stored in its iCloud service. The study, which does not include any findings of data breaches at Apple itself, argues that breaches are becoming so commonplace that the only feasible way to protect consumer data is wider use of end-to-end encryption.