Data Breach used to describe when confidential, sensitive, or protected information that has been accessed, disclosed or even stolen by unauthorised individuals or entities. Usually this involves the exposure of Data like personal information (e.g. National Insurance Number, passwords, financial records), trade secrets, intellectual property or even government information.
How Do They Happen
Data Breaches can occur in many ways including:
- Hacking: Attackers may exploit software or network security to gain unauthorised access to databases and internal systems.
- Internal Threats: An employee, contractor, or partner with legitimate access to internals systems and databases, might intentionally or accidentally expose sensitive information.
- Physical Theft or Loss: Data is stored in many forms including equipment such as laptops, smartphone, or even USB drives. These devices are easily misplaced or forgotten about, especially in public areas.
- Unintended Exposure: Improperly configured settings can expose private and sensitive information to the public domain, giving the internet full access.
How Can I Keep Myself Secure?
Protecting your Data doesn’t need to be difficult, here are some steps we recommend.
- Encryption: Protecting your Data by encoding it so only authorised users can read it.
- Access Controls: Limiting access to sensitive information to only those who need it.
- Regular Security Audits: Continually testing and assessing systems to identify vulnerabilities.
- Employee Training: Ensure staff have some level of cyber security training, covering best practices to avoid attacks like phishing schemes.