Data Breach
An incident where sensitive, protected, or confidential data is accessed, disclosed, or stolen by unauthorized individuals. Data breaches can result from hacking, insider threats, accidental exposure, or lost devices.
Extended Explanation
Data breaches can have severe consequences including financial losses, regulatory fines, reputational damage, and legal liability. Organizations must have incident response plans that include breach notification procedures as required by regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
Related Terms
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
data-protectionTechnologies and strategies that detect and prevent unauthorized transmission of sensitive data outside the organization...
Encryption
data-protectionThe process of converting plaintext data into an unreadable format (ciphertext) using mathematical algorithms and keys....
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
data-protectionA comprehensive data privacy regulation enacted by the European Union that governs how organizations collect, store, pro...
Incident Response Plan
incident-responseA documented set of procedures for detecting, responding to, and recovering from security incidents. An effective plan i...