What is Data Breach?
1 min read
Updated 2026-02-05
An incident where sensitive, protected, or confidential data is accessed, stolen, or used by an unauthorized party. Can result in regulatory fines and reputation damage.
Related: Encryption
Understanding Data Breach
Data breaches can occur through various means: hacking, insider threats, accidental exposure, or physical theft. The consequences include regulatory penalties (GDPR fines up to 4% of global revenue), legal liability, reputation damage, and loss of customer trust.
Examples
- Unauthorized access to a database containing user credentials
- Accidental exposure of customer data through misconfigured cloud storage
- Employee stealing sensitive data before leaving the company
- Ransomware attack that exfiltrates data before encryption
How to Prevent
- Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit
- Implement least-privilege access controls
- Monitor and log access to sensitive data
- Conduct regular security audits
- Have an incident response plan ready
- Train employees on security awareness
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