Tech security has record bad year

More than 55 million Americans were exposed to security risks in 2005, the most ever recorded in the country, according to a local paper.

A report in USA Today claimed that over 130 major intrusions detected this year left millions in the United States vulnerable to fraud, where personal data such as credit card details and Social Security identification numbers went unprotected.

According to the report which cited the U.S. Treasury Department, the annual proceeds from illegal drug sales is now less than the amount harvested from cyber crime, which totaled an estimated US$105 billion in 2004.

And even as the threats continue to grow, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's research budget for cybersecurity development was reduced 7 percent to US$16 million this year.