Data breaches are no small issue. The term does have a certain sinister tone to it, but perhaps that’s for the better as we’d take the issue more seriously upon hearing it. Data breaches are a serious problem affecting not only big tech companies and other large organizations who are trusted with swathes of sensitive data, but also smaller companies and individuals.
What is a data breach? To offer you a concise definition, we’ll put it this way – a data breach occurs when information (or data) is taken from a system without the owner’s knowledge or authorization. Basically, a data breach is a crime where sensitive, confidential information is exposed to those it shouldn’t be exposed to. Just like other crimes of theft, it involves lack of consent or permission.
As we’ve mentioned, larger companies and organizations are at risk of a data breach, but think of your digital life today. Almost everything you do involves a device of some kind that’s connected to the internet. You’ve likely shared loads of sensitive information from these devices via online forms, for example. You’ve also got a fair amount of sensitive information stored on your laptop or smartphone, and if these devices are breached there’s a good chance of your sensitive personally identifiable information landing in the wrong hands. And when personal information gets out in places like the dark web, the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft skyrockets.
Let’s look further into the topic to learn about what causes data breaches, and what you can do to prevent them from happening.
What Causes a Data Breach?
Those 90s and early 2000s films and adverts are quite unlike reality. Data breaches are not always the result of mysterious hackers typing furiously away in some dimly lit, barely-furnished, burner apartment. Well, maybe some hackers today do purposefully choose that as their aesthetic, but for the most part, this isn’t the case. Data breaches can occur in a variety of ways, including as a result of a system being hacked. Some of these ways are less “frightening” than you think, but result in equally dangerous consequences for those whose personal information has been compromised.
Malware
We’ve all heard about Trojan viruses and the like. They used to be a lot more “popular”, if you can put it that way, about a decade or two ago. But malware like this still exists and hasn’t become extinct in any way. They’ve just evolved, as do most criminal activities and products on the internet especially. Malware comes in many forms, and you often don’t realize that your device has been infected. And, yes, malware can infect your smartphone and tablet – they don’t simply attack desktops and laptops. These infections often have ways of sending your personal data back to their source – who are usually cybercriminals of some kind.
Hackers with Purpose
It does happen that data breaches occur due to targeted, purposeful methods carried out by hackers. Usually, however, bigger companies are targets of this type of hack, but it does happen that individuals are targeted by hackers, too.
Targeted hacking occurs when these criminals look out for weak links in a company that has a data breach response plan, whether it’s an organization’s digital infrastructure or its personnel. Even though larger organizations do, of course, invest far more in dedicated cybersecurity than smaller businesses, they can still be hacked and have their important data breached and compromised.
Phishing and Back Doors
Sometimes, hackers don’t have to invest time in studying the digital infrastructure of an organization. Perhaps the business’ cybersecurity is just too tight. What do they do in that case? Phishing attacks and other back door attempts that target employees and other individuals in the company to allow for a data breach can be used.
In these cases, data breaches are a result of an individual falling for a fake email that appears to be from a legitimate source. It’s common for you, as an individual, to receive emails like this, too. One example may be that you receive an email that appears to be from your bank. The email looks just like the ones your bank sends you, except for a few small details. Phishing emails like this usually link you to a spoof banking login page and have you put in your login credentials, thereby getting all they need to gain access to your funds and other personal information.
Human Error
The reality is that most data breaches are caused by human error. Yes, around 52% of data breaches are not caused by deliberate hacking attempts or malware, but by people making mistakes or being negligent. This includes leaving account information like passwords exposed, delaying security updates, using weak passwords, or just sending out sensitive information to the wrong people.
Companies Should Educate Employees
For businesses, large or small, make a point of investing in the education of your employees. More aware employees with safer digital practices are more valuable to your business. Employees who are better trained in best security practices are more equipped to prevent data breaches.
Invest in Cybersecurity
This goes for both organizations and individuals. Individuals should invest in strong anti-malware or antivirus software or suites to strengthen the security of their accounts and devices. For organizations, hiring capable IT personnel and implementing strong cybersecurity measures reduces the risk of a data breach.
Update Software across Devices
Software that’s out-of-date suffers from an increased number of security holes. With every software update for your devices comes security patches from developers as they keep up with evolving hacking techniques and fix previous security flaws.
Password Hygiene
It’s essential that you, as an individual, as well as anyone working at an organization practice strong password hygiene. This means creating strong passwords for your accounts, a different password per account, and using a password manager to keep track of them all. Also, with an increase in data breach attempts globally, it’s highly recommended to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all devices and accounts.
