A data breach is sensitive, confidential, or protected information accessible to an outsider (unauthorized person). A data breach information is either viewed or shared without permission.
It can be a massive problem for anyone from enterprise-level companies to individuals.
A data breach is possible due to two general reasons; first, technology, and second, user behaviour.
It is easily possible to have a data breach through modern-day devices. So, what are the reasons for data breaches? How do data breaches occur?
There are four ways through which data breaches can occur:
(i) Old and Unpatched Security Vulnerabilities:
Information security professionals find and compile data on the security exploitation that hackers have already used to attack thousands of companies. These exploitations further are taken to hundreds of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures to identify future threats.
Although, many security vulnerabilities don’t get fixed for a long period. Therefore, it becomes an accessible gateway for hackers to enter the organization and access your company’s sensitive information.
(ii) Malware Attack:
Malware is not just a small problem for personal computers. A minor number of malware events can certainly be worrying for the company’s system. Because there are several types of malwares, and of them is RAM scrapers capable of scanning data from memory to collect sensitive information.
(iii) Stolen Data or Physical Actions:
The theft of devices may hold the company’s stolen information. If your laptop’s hard drive is missing or got stolen, then it is possible that anything contained in this might be miss used. So, the severity of a data breach depends on the piece of information available on that device.
(iv) Criminal Hacking Attacks:
Hacking is one of the top causes of data breaches. Hackers use several techniques and tools to access your sensitive data and try to harm with the same data. For example, they can use SQL Injection or malware to get into your organization’s system.
So, how to get rid of the data breaches? What are the ways to protect your system from data breaches?