Are you one of the 1.2 million Mass Residents whose data wascompromised?

REGION newscast from Springfield, MA (WGGB) -- Major companies have been hit in an overwhelming amount of recent data breach incidents. More than one million Massachusetts residents had their personal information compromised last year. 

“$445 billion in this past year were stolen from people between identity theft and hacking. So, that’s a half a trillion dollars,” said Brian Corridan, Investment Exectuive at Corridan & Co. “That has become a major industry. That’s not going away.”

Home Depot is one company investigating a possible data breach. The business is currently looking into ‘unusual activity’.

“It’s a sad reality of the century. It’s going to be with us. They’re hacking into government computers, they’re hacking into major businesses,” said Corridan.

Target is another company that suffered from a massive data breach, where 40 million credit and debit accounts were compromised.

“We’ve come a long way in technology, but there are a lot of bad guys that follow us. It used to be they rob banks because that’s where the money is, they still do…but they go right to your bank account.”

88% of data breach incidents involve electronic records. That’s why it’s important to be aware of what you’re putting online.

“The first thing you do is be very stingy about who you give information to. Even when you’re applying for something, make sure when someone asks you for your scoial security number that they have a right to have it,” said Corridan. “Your computer is a stranger in your house. It can be your friend…it can be your enemy. Be very, very careful.”

Experts also recommend using security software programs, making passwords stronger, and to be wary of any communication that asks you to act immediately.