These are among the key takeaways of the 2010 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. In an exclusive interview in advance of the report's release, Wade Baker, one of the study's primary authors, discusses:

• Top headlines from this year's report;
• The U.S. Secret Service's role in this study;
• New trends in how entities are breached;
• What individuals and organizations must do to improve detection and prevention of breaches.

"Almost 50% of the breaches investigated by Verizon and the Secret Service in 2009 were attributed to insiders," Baker says. "That's a pretty big change."

Baker is the director of risk intelligence for Verizon Business. In this role, he oversees the collection and analysis of data relevant to understanding and managing information risk. Intelligence from these activities is used to create and improve products, inform personnel and clients, and publish credible research to the security community.

Baker has more than 10 years of experience in the IT and security industries. His background spans the technical-managerial spectrum from system administration and web development to risk management and corporate decision-making. Prior to his tenure at Verizon Business, he spent five years on the faculty of two major research universities, most recently in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.

A researcher at heart, Baker's work on various topics has been published in a number of highly-rated academic journals, professional magazines, and books. His research for the President's Information Technology Advisory Council was featured in the 2005 Report, "Cyber Security: A Crisis of Prioritization." Baker is the creator, author, and primary analyst for the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report series.