What is a Data Breach?
A Data Breach occurs when confidential or private information is exposed to someone who shouldn’t have it. It can be an accident or the result of malicious intent. The technical root causes of a data breach include innocent mistakes (such as an employee emailing sensitive information to the wrong person), malware that exposes data, misconfigured systems or stolen devices. Criminals stealing personal information for financial gain are the most common cause of breaches. They can sell data obtained in a breach on the dark web, which puts people at elevated risk of identity theft.
The scale and depth of the information that can be compromised in a data breach is staggering. For example, in 2023, hackers breached 23andMe, a company that conducts genetic testing, to steal user data. They obtained names, phone numbers, birthdates, email addresses, gender identifiers, family records, and DNA information. They also gained access to passwords that were stored as SHA-1 hashes or bcrypt hashes on the company servers. These credentials could be used to gain access to users’ unrelated accounts on other platforms.
Companies that experience a data breach must mobilize quickly. They must contain the breach, determine the source and scope of it, and notify people whose data was breached. Notifications are required by law in many jurisdictions, and the company may face lawsuits. In addition, there is a cost to the company in terms of lost revenue, forensics and post-breach remediation. It is helpful to have a data breach response team prepared for rapid mobilization. This should be comprised of a mix of people from the organization’s forensics, legal, information security, operations, communications, HR and investor relations departments.