What You Need to Know About a Data Breach
About Data Breach
Cyberattacks and breaches are more common than ever, with hackers taking advantage of weaknesses in corporate security to steal customer and employee information. While some of the biggest attacks target large companies, small businesses and individuals are also at risk. Inadequate cyber security can have financial consequences and leave organizations vulnerable to lawsuits, fines and operational losses.
A breach is when sensitive information is exposed to hackers without malicious intent, and can include everything from credit card numbers to social security numbers. It can be the result of malware, compromised credentials, phishing attacks and ransomware. It can also happen when employees use unsecured cloud applications, unprotected devices or fall prey to a scam.
In 2024, debt collection firm FBCS was hacked and names, addresses, dates of birth and driver’s license numbers were stolen. Despite the company’s claims that no medical or personal information was accessed, the attack caused a wave of class action lawsuits. In 2015, Anthem suffered a massive hacking attack where 80 million records were breached. The company was hit with class action suits and paid millions in fines for the breach due to inadequate cyber security protocols.
In 2022, AT&T announced hackers gained access to the call and call history of every one of its customers using third-party vendor Snowflake. This was a breach that could have been prevented with better Zero Trust and access monitoring controls. In 2021, hackers put a large collection of LinkedIn passwords up for sale on the dark web. This was a breach that could have prevented by encrypting data and using strong password policies.