What is a Data Breach?
A Data Breach is a cybersecurity mishap that occurs when confidential information goes into the wrong hands.
These breaches happen for a variety of reasons, and they can have serious repercussions for individuals whose private information is exposed. It can also harm a company’s reputation and financial bottom line.
Often, data breaches are caused by external attackers. These can be hackers acting alone, hacking groups, or state-sponsored actors. They can steal a company’s confidential information to sell it on the black market or use it to cause physical harm or financial loss. They can also target intellectual property like research, product designs or source code.
An external attack can occur when a hacker uses brute force software to guess network passwords. This can expose sensitive personal information in under a minute. They may also use phishing, malware or ransomware to gain unauthorized access to a company’s systems. They can even breach a company by hacking a third party that has a relationship with the company such as an online retailer or a business partner.
A breach could also happen through human error. A simple mistake such as sending an email containing sensitive medical information to the wrong recipient can be considered a data breach. It can also happen when a company loses data stored on its systems or in the cloud. This can include a hard drive that contains the personal details of several people or information about customers and employees.