Data Breach

What Is Data Breach?

A data breach is an event in which confidential or sensitive data is disclosed or used without any authorization.

Such incidents can occur on networks or physical devices, including PCs, servers, storage devices, mobile phones, databases, etc. The leaked data is likely to involve protected info such as personal identification info, medical records, credit card and financial messages, login credentials, and trade or government confidential info.

Data breaches may occur by accident or as a result of malicious acts, but when they do happen, they can pose serious security risks to individuals or organizations, even involving reputational and financial losses.

How Does a Data Breach Happen?

Data breaches usually occur for the following reasons.

Accidental Exposure

Individuals do not intend to compromise their data, but unforeseen factors such as security software malfunctions, database misconfigurations, or human errors can lead to data breaches.

Physical Theft

Computers, hard drives, and other devices or paper documents containing important data are stolen, which leads to an information leakage situation.

Internal Threats

Employees or contractors use their work privileges to access customer details and sell them to third-party individuals or organizations for nefarious gain.

Malicious Attacks

Criminals will use various methods to remotely get sensitive info from their targets:

1. Malware Attacks: Tricking users into installing malware on their devices to gain control and access stored information.

2. Phishing Attacks: Sending deceptive SMS or emails to direct users to fake websites, prompting them to voluntarily enter their account details and passwords.

3. DDoS Attacks: Using a botnet to overwhelm a target network or server, causing a system crash and preventing legitimate access. This chaos can then be exploited to steal private data by taking advantage of system vulnerabilities.

Prevention and Response to Data Breach

・Data Protection: Implement strict measures such as strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and professional security tools.

・Regular Updates: Keep software or systems in the newest version, preventing exploitation of vulnerabilities.

・Data Encryption: Add more security layers to the most important data to ensure robust security.

・Employee Training: Teach employees about the weight of privacy & security, and also learn the legal requirements and violation consequences.