Causes and types of data breach

1. Causes of data breach

There are various causes of data breach, and the following are some of the common causes.

a. Network attacks: Network attacks are one of the most common causes of data breach. Hackers exploit network vulnerabilities to break into an organization's servers or data storage devices and steal sensitive information.

b. Internal threats: Misconduct of employees or partners within the organization is also one of the causes of data breach. Employees may steal, leak, or misuse the organization's sensitive information for personal reasons, work-related reasons, or malicious acts.

c. Third-party vendors: The organization's third-party vendors may also cause the organization's data to be compromised due to their own security breach or misconduct.

d. Human error: Data leakage may also occur due to employee negligence or improper operation, such as sending sensitive information to the wrong recipient, loss of unencrypted storage devices, etc.

e. Physical security issues: such as the loss or theft of unencrypted mobile storage devices, or unprotected data backups.

f. Software vulnerabilities: Vulnerabilities in the software used by the organization that can be exploited by hackers to conduct attacks and gain access to sensitive information about the organization.

g. Social engineering attacks: Social engineering techniques are used to gain access to sensitive information of the organization through deception and other means.

2. Types of data breach

The types of data breach include but are not limited to the following.

a. Personally identifiable information: including name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, passport number, etc.

b. Financial information: including credit card numbers, bank account information, payment card numbers, financial statements, etc.

c. Health information: including medical records, health insurance information, drug prescription information, disease diagnosis, etc.

d. Trade secrets: including customer lists, sales data, marketing plans, R&D projects, product plans, etc.

e. Government secrets: including national security information, military secrets, intelligence information, etc.

f. Educational information: including student records, grades, faculty and staff information, etc.

g. Social information: including social media account information, chat logs, social network activities, etc.

h. Other sensitive information: including private information of individuals or organizations, emails, passwords, ID numbers, fingerprints, facial recognition data, etc.

These data types involve sensitive information such as personal privacy, trade secrets, and government secrets, so data leakage can have serious impacts on individuals, organizations, and society. These sensitive data need to be protected to avoid data breach.