A security breach is any incident that results in unauthorized access to computer data, applications, networks, or devices. It leads to accessing information without permission. Usually, this happens when an intruder is able to bypass the security mechanisms.
Technically, there is a difference between a security breach and a data breach. A security breach is an effective breach, while a data breach is defined as a cyber criminal escaping the information. Imagine a thief. The security breach is when he climbs into a window, and a data breach is when he grabs your pocket or laptop and takes it away.
Confidential information has an enormous value. It is often sold on the dark web; For example, names and credit card numbers can be bought and then used for identity theft or fraud purposes. Not surprisingly, security breaches cost companies huge sums of money. On average, the bill is around $ 4 million for the major corporations.
It is also important to distinguish between the definition of a security breach and the definition of a security incident. An incident could include a malware infection, a DDOS attack, or an employee leaving a laptop in a taxi, but if this does not lead to network access or data loss, it will not be considered a security breach.
Examples of a security breach
When a major organization has a security breach, it always hits the headlines. Examples of a security breach include:
Equifax - In 2017, a vulnerability in its website application caused the company to lose personal details of 145 million Americans. This included their names, Social Security numbers, and driver's license numbers. The attacks took place over a three-month period from May to July, but the security breach was not announced until September.
Yahoo - 3 billion user accounts were compromised in 2013 after a phishing attempt that gave hackers access to the network.
EBay experienced a major breach in 2014. Although PayPal users 'credit card information was not at risk, many customers' passwords were compromised. The company acted quickly to email its users and ask them to change their passwords in order to stay safe.
Dating site Ashley Madison, which marketed itself to married people wanting to have sexual relations, was hacked in 2015. Hackers continued to leak a large number of customer details online. The extortionists began targeting customers whose names had been leaked; Unconfirmed reports have linked a number of suicides to data breaches.
Facebook saw that internal software flaws resulted in 29 million users losing personal data in 2018. This was a particularly embarrassing security breach as the compromised accounts included the account of company CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Marriott Hotels announced a security and data breach that affected up to 500 million customer records in 2018. However, the guest reservations system was breached in 2016 - and the breach was only discovered two years later.
Perhaps most embarrassing, being a cybersecurity company doesn't make you immune - the Czech company Avast revealed a security breach in 2019 when a hacker managed to compromise an employee's VPN credentials. This breach did not threaten customer details but instead aimed to introduce malware into Avast products.
A decade or so ago, many companies tried to keep news of security breaches secret so as not to destroy consumer confidence. However, this is becoming increasingly rare. In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires companies to notify relevant authorities of any breach and any individuals whose personal data may be at risk. By January 2020, the GDPR was only in effect for 18 months, and indeed, more than 160,000 separate data breach notices were sent out - more than 250 per day.
