Almost all of the data breaches occur due to these factors:

Weak or Stolen Credentials

The most popular reason for data breaches is the misuse of stolen passwords.

Many people use common passwords like password1 and 123456, which means hackers don’t even need to work hard to steal their information.

Even the passwords which are considered moderately strong can be identified and extracted by computer programs that run millions of popular or common credentials.

So you need to think hard before you create a password. Make sure that your password is strong and original so no one can break it.

Application Vulnerabilities

Every system or application has some vulnerabilities which hackers can manipulate in many ways. Therefore, organizations that have developed that app shall check for weakness routinely, which enables them to identify and repair any vulnerability before the hackers can access and exploit the application.

Whenever a defect is fixed, the organization releases a patch. The patch should be deployed by any company which uses the application. It should be quickly applied because when the hackers come to know there is a weakness, they will undoubtedly find the companies who are still exposed to the threat and manipulate them.

Malware

Malware is a great example to understand how simple a cybercrime is and how it works. The cybercriminals purchase malicious software and search for a system with weakness. Once preparatory steps are complete, cybercriminals deploy the malware, abuse the system, and get the rewards.

The amount of ransom or illegal rewards collected by hackers depends on the type of malware they use. The award can be anything such as a keylogger that tracks the user types of any system, or it could be ransomware, which freezes the system, and the victim can gain access only when he/she pays the ransom.

Malicious Insiders

Every organization has employees who have direct access to the company’s sensitive information, and some of them will even try to misuse it.

Although the practice of accessing unauthorized data is unethical, it can lure many people into sharing and selling sensitive information on the dark web to get money.

Insider Error

Sometimes employees don’t need to have malicious intentions to commit a data breach. They can do so by making a mistake, like including the wrong person in the cc field of an email or losing a laptop.

How to Detect and Prevent a Data Breach

• Hire cybersecurity experts

• Stay up to date

• Deploy and use data breach detection tools

• Leverage the power of global threat intelligence

• Keep a close eye on your organization

• Keep a track on attack campaigns

• Train your staff regularly for data breach awareness.

In Short

Data Breaches can be a bone of content among the employees and heads of many organizations. We shall not forget that we are a mutual target of data breach attackers, and we must fight against these breaches by presenting a united front and deploying useful tactics at once.