A data breach occurs when sensitive, proprietary or confidential information is stolen from a system without the company’s knowledge or permission. It may include personal details, financial information or trade secrets. It can result in expensive incident response costs, fines, settlements and customer compensation. It can also damage a company’s reputation and impact business continuity.
Cyber attackers can gain access to any type of data, but the most valuable information they typically target includes personal details (names, addresses, social security numbers and dates of birth), banking account information, credit card payment details and medical records. They also seek intellectual property like patents, copyrighted materials and proprietary business information.
The most damaging effects of a data breach are financial losses, loss of trust and long-term disruptions to business operations. They can also damage a company’s reputation, leading to the loss of customers and revenue. They can even be used for blackmail or cyberpropaganda.
A breach can occur for many reasons, including the following:
The first step after a data breach is to identify the compromised information and what caused it. This involves working with forensics experts to capture forensic images of affected systems, determine the scope and source of the attack, and take necessary remediation steps. It also means understanding how long the attackers were in the system, which requires correlating log files from multiple sources to build attack timelines that might span weeks or months. This information is critical to complying with legal notification requirements and determining what remedial measures need to be taken.
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