Providing a database of well-compiled and publicly available information is monumental in any field of study. Specifically in relation to cybersecurity, PrivacyRights.org’s data breach database aids in establishing a base knowledge of different types of data breaches and how common they are.

Going deeper and finding the chronology of data breaches provides many more opportunities to learn and grow in order to further establish and base knowledge of what to look out for as a cybersecurity expert. Having data which spans back to 2005 in such a free and open manner allows researchers to easily study the different types of data breaches throughout history in order to prevent the methods used in these breaches from affecting companies in the future. Learning from the past always helps to secure the future, especially in the digital landscape where things are ever-changing yet basic principles of security will almost always apply.

The transparency the website has with how it uses, views, gains, and distributes their collected data on these breaches further serves to let researchers know of the ethics behind the website and make their informed decisions whether it can be used as a viable source for research. Having a tool which provides a lot of data on data breaches which can be further broken down by category, state, time, and types of breaches with complete transparency about how they operate makes it a great start for any cybersecurity researcher interested in data breaches.