The magnitude of data breaches has increased exponentially over the last few years, and there are now several different types of data breaches. Data is constantly being collected by businesses and shared with third parties so that they can provide services that are beneficial to the user and the business.
At the same time, businesses do not always take steps to secure this data. If another company has access to your data, it is called a data breach. It is essential to understand the different types of data breaches to prevent them and what action to take if you are affected. If you think your data has been involved in a breach, you could be eligible for data breach compensation.
What is a Data breach?
A data breach is when unauthorized people get access to sensitive information. There are different types of data breaches, but they all have one thing in common: data was accessed that it wasn’t supposed to be.
The different categories of data breaches include accidental, malicious, and negligent.
Accidental Data Breach
An accidental data breach occurs when someone accidentally loses a USB drive or mistakenly sends an email with sensitive information. These often happen because the person doesn’t realize the sensitivity of the information they are sending.
Malicious Data Breach
A malicious data breach occurs when someone purposely tries to steal your company’s information or sell it on the black market. This type of breach is done by hackers who want to make money from your company’s secret information. It can also occur if your company has an employee who purposely shares sensitive/confidential company data with people outside their organization.
Negligent Data Breach
A negligent data break occurs when a third party has access to your company’s private information and then mishandles it, letting unauthorized people view or use it somehow. For example, if a third-party vendor mistakenly emails customer addresses or credit card numbers to another employee without following compliance protocols that would be considered negligent. Another way this can happen is if a hacker gains access to a business’s computer system and steals personal and financial information to make unauthorized purchases or enter other systems within the business.
Types of Data Breaches
Data Loss or Exposure
The first type of data breach is data loss or exposure. Data loss or disclosure refers to when a company’s data is stolen and made public.
Data theft and sharing can be prevented by creating unique passwords for every account on the internet. Keeping your devices protected with antivirus software and updating your devices regularly is essential. Installing apps on your phone or tablet downloaded from a legitimate app store is important. Avoid opening attachments from unknown senders, even if they appear to come from someone you know, and avoid opening links in texts sent without warning.
Data Theft
Data theft is one of the most common types of the data breach. Data theft is when a company or person gains access and copies of your company’s data and stores it on their computer or server. This type of breach may not be as damaging to your company as others, but it could lead to you not being able to fulfill your clients’ requests.
Unencrypted Sensitive Data
Unencrypted sensitive data is defined as any data being accessed by third parties that were not encrypted or secured. As internet use has grown and become more integrated into people’s lives, it has become easier for hackers to access this type of information. Some examples would be when someone creates an account on a website but does not choose a strong password or does not provide two-factor authentication.
It is really essential to know all these data breaches so that you can prevent such breaches in the best way possible.
