What is a Data Breach?

A data breach is a cybersecurity event, also called a "data leak", "unauthorized exposure", or "cyberattack". Since 2005, data breaches have been the subject of headlines, with impact numbers ranging from a few hundred record exposures to billions.

Data breach attack vectors can include a single element or entire repertoires of cyber assaults, malicious actors can use malware, phishing, or brute force attacks to get what they want; otherwise, they might use social engineering or take advantage of system side-door and zero-day vulnerabilities.

Further, some data breaches appear by mistakes in the workplace. Situations like sending emails with payroll files, announcing one’s password, or being in a compromising environment (like accessing an organization’s software inside a public cafe) can all contribute to the accidental disclosure of data.

Regardless of how a data breach happens, whether by design or accident, the impacts of a breach are clear. The personal information of millions of people can be harvested in no time at all, complete with everything from Social Security Numbers to contact details and account credentials. Even worse, with limited compliance regulations from authorities, any organization could have a breach and not be required to notify the owners of the stolen data. That’s why we say there are two types of companies these days: ones that have been breached and made public knowledge and those that have had breaches we don’t know about.

Widely available technology has made data breaches more common, with millions suffering the impacts. Victims may experience identity theft, financial fraud, account takeovers, and job or housing loss; others might have their medical entitlements stolen from them, or they could be framed and imprisoned for the deeds of another. Regardless of how the criminals may misuse the stolen data, from selling it on the dark web to wire fraud and everything in between, victims of a data breach do all they can to protect their data once exposed, accessed, stolen, or copied by a cyber criminal.

IDStrong's data breach alert service is essential to our identity theft monitoring. It detects any indicators of compromised personal information related to your identity by closely monitoring numerous data sources, including the dark web, public records, and other relevant databases. Our data breach warning system gives fast and proactive notifications, allowing you to take control of your personal information and protect yourself against all cyber threats, from identity schemes to data breaches.

When the Internet began, there was a widely accepted belief that cyber criminals only targeted big-budget institutions; however, this is no longer true. These days, hackers and malicious actors target all organizations, from government offices and healthcare provider networks to global corporations, national chain stores, and especially small businesses, which have grown a reputation for lacking cybersecurity protections. The risks of these breaches are also ever-growing, as companies that share data (i.e., partners, affiliates, vendors) may have your information, and you wouldn’t ever know until a breach exposes it. For the consumer, all this means one thing: cybercriminals could attack any company and steal your data.

Older Americans, children, and vulnerable populations are most at risk of identity theft and fraud after a data breach. Their information carries various elements that a threat actor could misuse, including medical entitlements or long-term account information, a vital resource for future crimes like financial fraud. These demographics are also heavily targeted by criminals because they are less likely to be noticed when committing suspicious activities; by extension, once a criminal has one person’s information, everyone around them could also be at risk.

The most significant single organization data breach in history came from Yahoo in 2016; threat actors succeeded in stealing the account information of 3 billion users, some of whom are still being victimized today. Meanwhile, Microsoft holds the record for the biggest conglomerate data breach, impacting over 60,000 organizations worldwide following a zero-day system vulnerability; this attack impacted small businesses, local and federal government agencies, and one of the most considerable email servers in the world. Both events created lasting consequences, for those who had exposed accounts and those whose data was swept up and saved by coincidence (or contract). Moreover, any data breach could impact you regardless of who the threat actors target. You could feel the consequences weeks from now, years, or even decades later; that’s why you must protect yourself.

Hackers have become skilled at stitching together the exploits from multiple data breaches to assemble complete identity profiles on individuals. For example, if one data breach exposed your name, email address, and phone number, a cybercriminal could connect that with information found in another data breach that exposed your date of birth, credit card number, and mother’s maiden name.

Now, the hacker has enough information to take over your credit card account or impersonate you to open new accounts or access other data. If a hacker finds your email address or username online, they only need your password to break into accounts and wreak havoc. Often, if the password is weak, they can break it.

Your best and first defense is to keep a close eye on all your personal information. However, since you probably have dozens of accounts spread across the Internet, it’s not feasible for you to check each one daily. Instead, you can use our identity monitoring service, which includes regular data breach notifications, to let you know whenever information from a data breach shows up online or is publicly accessible. Additionally, we will alert you when your information is exposed online, either on the dark web or in other locations where it should not be; this allows you to take quick action to fix the problem and help you avoid identity theft, fraud, and all the other consequences of a data breach.