Data Breach: What Is It, & How Can It Be Prevented?

In this article, we’ll explore what a data breach is and how they can be prevented.

Introduction

A data breach is when an attacker takes control of your company’s systems and steals sensitive information. It can happen in various ways, but the most common is through hacking, password reuse or lost devices. Data breaches can result in significant financial losses, damage to reputation, and legal liabilities for both individuals and organizations.

Define: Data Breach

A data breach is a security incident that involves unauthorized access to sensitive, confidential, or private data. This attack may occur through stolen or misconfigured devices; malicious insiders; hacking; malware infections and more.

There are several potential causes of data breaches, including:

Malicious insiders: Employees who intentionally access others’ information within their company.
Hackers: People who try to gain unauthorized access to networks and systems to steal sensitive information.

Data Breaches: What causes them

Hacker

There are several factors that can contribute to a data breach. One common cause is hacking. Where an unauthorized actor gains access to a company’s data stores through the use of technical means such as malware or exploits.

Staff mistake

Another potential cause is a staff mistake, where an employee inadvertently exposes data through their own actions. Such as sending an email to the wrong person or leaving a laptop unlocked.

Rouge employee

A rouge employee, has authorized access to data but misuses it for their own gain or to cause harm. They can also be a cause of a data breach.

Lost or stolen devices

If sensitive information is not properly secured on laptops or smartphones and they are lost or stolen, a data breach can occur.

Other

Other ways may include threatening people or ransomware demand for decrypting the files of the targeted system.

Widespread attacks used by attackers for data breaches

Phishing

Phishing is the most common attack used by attackers to steal data. This is the most inexpensive and easiest to execute. Phishing can be used to steal passwords, other confidential information and payment card numbers.

Phishing emails usually contain links to fake websites that look like they are official sites of banks or retailers. But actually, lead you on a journey through which your personal information is being collected by hackers.

Trojan Horse

Another attack is a Trojan Horse, which is a type of malware that is disguised as a legitimate program. But is actually designed to give the attacker access to the victim’s device.

Distributed-Denial-of-Service

Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks are another common tactic used by attackers. These attacks involve overwhelming a website or server with traffic in order to make it unavailable to legitimate users.

Logic Bombs

Logic bombs are another threat. They are malicious code fragments designed to execute when certain conditions are met, such as a specific date or time.

Brute Force

Finally, brute force attacks are a type of attack in which an attacker attempts to guess a password by trying every possible combination until they find the correct one.

Real-Life Example of an Indian Data Breaches

In a real-life example of a data breach, we can look at the BigBasket Data Breach. This was a significant security breach in which more than 66 million customers of BigBasket were affected by hackers. They stole their personal information including names, phone numbers and email addresses. The company’s official website was hacked. Hackers posted fraudulent orders on it that were sent to customers’ accounts without their consent or knowledge.

The Google Data Breach happened when an employee named Mustafa Arakamil Salleh discovered that his Gmail account had been compromised. While he was travelling abroad and then they sent out emails containing sensitive company information. Such as source code repositories using his own username: “mustafaa@gmail” instead of “mustafa976@bigbasketcom/home”.

How can attackers use stolen data?

The most common way attackers can use stolen data is to commit identity theft. This is a crime in which someone uses the information of another person to gain access to their bank accounts, credit cards and other confidential information.

In addition to identity theft, there are several other ways that hackers use stolen data for malicious purposes:

If hackers obtain your personal financial information, such as your Social Security number, they can use it to commit tax fraud or open new credit accounts under your name using fake documents. They may also use this information as part of a scam involving fake checks or money transfers that appear legitimate but actually result in theft from banks or other institutions.
Data mining: If hackers have access to large amounts of personal information like names, addresses, and phone numbers then they can run analytics against it so they know how many people live at each address based on the census data available online. This allows them then target specific areas where they might find residents who haven’t updated their contact details yet and therefore aren’t protected by existing security protocols.
Identity theft: Stolen data can be used to impersonate someone else and commit fraudulent activities, such as opening new credit card accounts or loans in someone else’s name.
Financial gain: Attackers may sell stolen data on the black market, where it can be purchased by other criminals for use in identity theft or other fraudulent activities.
Blackmail: In some cases, attackers may threaten to release sensitive information unless their demands are met. This is known as extortion or blackmail.
Spamming: Stolen email addresses and other personal information can be used to send spam emails or texts.
Targeted attacks: Hackers or attackers may use stolen data to launch targeted attacks on specific individuals or organizations. For example, they may use information about an individual’s interests or habits to craft a phishing email that is more likely to be successful.
State-sponsored espionage: In some cases, stolen data may be used by governments or other organizations for espionage or intelligence-gathering purposes.

Overall, stolen data can be a valuable asset to attackers. They may use it in a variety of ways to achieve their goals.

Data Breach: How Can It Be Prevented?

Data breaches are one of the most common security threats. Every day, we hear about companies being hacked and their data stolen.

There are many causes for this problem. But one of them is that attackers have become more sophisticated when it comes to attacking organizations. They know how to find vulnerable areas in your network and exploit them. In addition, they use social engineering techniques (often called phishing) to gain access to your system. So they can steal information from you or even worse, compromise your entire network.

Some major Prevention steps include:

One key step is to implement robust security measures, such as firewalls, antivirus software, and strong passwords.
It’s also important to train employees on security best practices, such as being cautious about opening emails or links from unknown sources and
By properly securing devices that contain sensitive data.
Keeping software and systems up to date can prevent data breaches by fixing vulnerabilities and blocking attackers from exploiting them.
By proper handling of access control. It is a selective restriction of access to data. It includes authentication and authorization i.e is helpful in providing data security.

Conclusion

We’ve covered a lot of ground here, but hopefully, you can see that data breaches are serious business. If you want to make sure your company isn’t a target. It’s important to understand how they happen and what attackers are looking for when they steal your data. Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to prevent these attacks completely. But there are some steps you can take to reduce the odds of becoming a victim. To prevent data breaches, it’s important to implement strong security measures, train employees on best practices, and regularly update systems and software. By taking these steps, organizations can significantly reduce their risk of experiencing a data breach.

FAQs

What is meant by a data breach?

A data breach is an unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of sensitive or confidential data. These incidents can be caused by a variety of methods, including hacking, phishing scams, malware, or unauthorized access to data storage.

What is an example of a data breach?

An example of a data breach might be if a hacker gains access to a company’s customer database. Then they are able to view or download sensitive information. Such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or home addresses.

What are the 3 types of data breaches?

There are three main types of data breaches:

Insider breaches occur when someone with authorized access to data, such as an employee or contractor, uses that access to view or steal sensitive information.
Physical breaches occur when data is accessed or stolen through physical means, such as someone stealing a laptop or hard copy documents.
An external data breach occurs when an outsider, like a hacker, gains unauthorized access to a company’s data stores.

What is a data breach under GDPR?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a data breach is defined as “a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.”

What Happens When There Is a Data Breach?

If there is a data breach, the first step is to determine the scope and impact of the breach. This may involve conducting a forensic investigation to understand how the breach occurred and what data was accessed or stolen. The company may also need to notify relevant authorities and potentially affected individuals, depending on the nature of the data and the laws that apply. The company may also need to take steps to prevent further breaches from occurring in the future.