What is Data Breach?
Data Breach occurs when sensitive information is stolen, lost, or exposed, usually by hackers. This could include personal information like credit card or banking data, medical records, login credentials for email and social media accounts, and home addresses and phone numbers.
Data breaches can cause enormous damage to businesses and individuals, whether they are private companies or government agencies. The loss of trust can destroy a brand, while financial losses and fines can eat into the bottom line. In addition, the aftermath of a data breach can last for years with customers or citizens finding it difficult to trust organizations that have experienced a hack.
A data breach is a critical issue for all industries, but it is especially damaging to regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance and the public sector. Fines, penalties and other costs can quickly add up to millions of dollars for any company that suffers a breach.
Breaches occur when employees share confidential files with the wrong people or accidentally make the information public by setting too-permissive sharing links in collaboration tools. These breaches can also happen when servers are hacked and sensitive information is stolen. In many cases, attackers will sell the information they steal or use it to commit identity theft and other crimes.