What's a Data Breach?

A data breach is a security violation in which sensitive, protected or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Other terms are unintentional information disclosure, data leak, information leakage, and data spill.

What happens during a data breach?

A data breach is an incident that exposes confidential or protected information. A data breach might involve the loss or theft of your Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers, personal health information, passwords or email. A data breach can be intentional or accidental. ... How data breaches happen.

What is an example of a data breach?

Examples of a breach might include: loss or theft of hard copy notes, USB drives, computers or mobile devices. an unauthorised person gaining access to your laptop, email account or computer network. sending an email with personal data to the wrong person.