The New York Attorney General's office has revealed in a report released on Tuesday that, in the last eight-year period, the private records of 22.8 million New Yorkers have been exposed in data security breaches reported by over 3,000 businesses, nonprofit organizations and governments.

The report disclosed that data breaches in New York had increased more than three times from 2006 to 2013; and revealed that the compromise of personal data of 22.8 million New Yorkers was a result of 5,000 data security breaches that took place during the mentioned five-year period.

According to the report, nearly 40 percent of the 5,000 security beaches - and the related exposure of records - were an upshot of deliberate hacking. In addition, records were also exposed as a result of lost or stolen equipment, insider wrongdoing at companies, and unintentional slip-ups.

In reference to the security breaches leading to the compromise of private records by hackers, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that there should be collaboration between industry and security experts, to enable businesses and organizations have the tools for ensuring the safety of data and addressing the complex problem of exposed personal information of New Yorkers.

Schneiderman said: "As we increasingly share our personal information with stores, restaurants, health care providers and other organizations, we should be able to enjoy the benefits of new technology without putting ourselves at risk."