A data leak is a security incident that unintentionally exposes sensitive, protected or confidential information outside its intended environment. It usually occurs for multiple reasons, including internal human errors, software vulnerabilities or poor data security measures. It may compromise personal details, financial records or trade secrets, leading to reputational damage and potential legal issues.
Lost or stolen laptops, USB storage devices, mobile phones and other physical gadgets can cause a data leak when they are in the hands of unauthorized people. Malicious actors can use these devices to access a company’s network and gain entry to its systems. Old, outdated or improperly patched software can also expose data.
Hackers can take advantage of data leaks to blackmail or threaten businesses with financial penalties, fines and/or public embarrassment. For example, a Sydney man was sentenced for trying to exploit an Optus data breach and blackmail the telecoms firm’s customers.
Other examples of data leaks include the PharMerica data breach that exposed personal details of 5.8 million patients and the Cleartrip hack that saw personal details — including addresses, names, email addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers — leaking on to a dark web forum.
If you suspect your business has experienced a data leak, you need to act fast. You should work with your forensic experts to analyze backup or preserved data and determine who had access at the time of the breach. From there, you can evaluate and limit permissions. If the data was encrypted, you should look into the type of encryption used and whether it is strong enough to deter cybercriminals from exploiting it.