Editorial illustration for Generative AI fuels industrial-scale record 2025 data breaches, ITRC reports
Generative AI fuels industrial-scale record 2025 data...
Generative AI drove an unprecedented number of data breaches in 2025, according to a new report from the Identity Theft Resource Center. The ITRC tracked more breaches last year than in any previous period. Michael Bruemmer, Experian's Vice President of Consumer Protection, put a figure on the trend: in 40 percent of the 5,000 breaches his team managed, artificial intelligence played a role.
Michael Bruemmer, Vice President of Consumer Protection at Experian000 data breaches his team handled for affected companies last year involved AI.
Bruemmer described the result as identity theft operating at an industrial scale. The ITRC data suggests security practices built for human-led attacks are now inadequate. For companies, the report means defenses built before the AI era need an urgent update.
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Common Questions Answered
What role did generative AI play in the 2025 data breaches tracked by the ITRC?
According to Michael Bruemmer from Experian, generative AI was involved in 40 percent of the 5,000 breaches his team managed in 2025. This represents an unprecedented level of AI-driven attacks that contributed to the record number of data breaches reported by the Identity Theft Resource Center for that year.
How many total data breaches did the ITRC report in 2025 compared to previous years?
The ITRC tracked more breaches in 2025 than in any previous period on record, marking an industrial-scale increase in data security incidents. This represents a significant escalation in the frequency and severity of breaches driven largely by generative AI capabilities.
Why are traditional security practices inadequate against AI-driven data breaches?
Security practices built for human-led attacks are now insufficient to defend against the scale and sophistication of generative AI-driven breaches. The ITRC data demonstrates that companies need to urgently update their defenses, as systems designed before the AI era cannot adequately protect against identity theft operating at an industrial scale.
What does Michael Bruemmer mean by identity theft operating at an industrial scale?
Bruemmer's description refers to the unprecedented volume and automation of identity theft attacks enabled by generative AI in 2025. This industrial-scale operation suggests that AI tools have made it possible to conduct breaches and identity theft at a much larger magnitude than previously possible with human-led attacks alone.
