A data breach is a security incident in which an unauthorized individual or group gains access to sensitive, confidential, or protected information.
Sensitive information can include
- personal information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or medical records
- confidential business information such as intellectual property, trade secrets, and financial records.
A breach can be malicious, caused by hacking, phishing, malware, physical theft, or other methods. A breach can also be accidental, such as when a laptop is lost or a cloud storage bucket is misconfigured.
