What is a Data Breach?
The Data Breach is a cyber attack that results in the theft of personal identifiable information (PII). This could include a person’s name, address, phone number, email address or credit card details. This PII is often sold on the dark web. The victim may also be at an elevated risk of identity theft for years after the attack.
Cyber attacks and data breaches are a serious threat to business, privacy and consumer safety. Companies need to take steps to ensure their systems are protected and have a plan in place for responding to a data breach.
If a company suffers a breach it must notify consumers, regulators and the media as quickly as possible. This includes sending emails and text messages to all consumers whose PII was compromised. Some states have laws that differ from the rest of the country with regard to how quickly a breach must be reported. Some states require a risk of harm assessment before a breach is considered to be major.
The cost of a Data Breach is usually quite high and rises over time. This is because it is expensive to detect and escalate the breach, pay fines and settlements, pay lawyers to defend the company, provide free credit monitoring for victims and other post-breach expenses. Companies are also at a higher risk of being sued by people whose PII was exposed. However, very few of these lawsuits lead to compensation for the victims.