The number of people impacted by data breaches could more than double in 2009 as the credit crunch deepens, according to KPMG’s Data Loss Barometer.

According to the analyst, 190 million people globally may be impacted by data losses this year, compared with 92 million in 2008, with telecoms and utilities firms expected to be among those hit hardest by criminal gangs.

KPMG based its bleak prediction on publicly disclosed data loss incidents in the three months to November 2008. During the period, the number of people affected by data loss incidents (47.8 million) was more than for the first eight months of the year combined.

The market watcher said the economic backdrop was to blame for the rise.

KPMG partner Malcolm Marshall said: “Data loss trends are set to increase through 2009. With increasing economic pressures creating budget constraints, companies will be more vulnerable to the risk of data loss and their consequences.”

Marshall added that those sectors, such as banking, that have acted to shore up their defences would not be at high risk.

“We anticipate an increase in the number of malicious data theft attempts and believe the financial sector is most prepared to handle this threat,” he said.

“Other sectors such as telecommunications and utilities could be seen by criminal gangs as soft targets for sophisticated attacks. The organisations that will be most severely affected are those who share most data with external providers and other third parties.”

KPMG predicts there will be 427 reported data loss incidents in 2008, compared with 412 in 2007. High profile incidents reported in the UK, the US, Germany, South Korea and Chile accounted for 91 per cent of the people affected worldwide last year.