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Data Breaches Explained

Data breaches can happen at any time on any network. They occur when unauthorized entities gain access to confidential or sensitive information, such as names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, and more, within the network, creating a security incident. Data breaches can be caused by numerous incidents, including:

  • Stolen or weak credentials
  • Mishandling of personal information
  • Stolen devices (mobile phone, flash drive, etc.)
  • Insider threats
  • Successful hacking efforts

While the methodology may vary, the intent is typically centered around one of two main motives: gain or harm. When breaching for gain, adversaries look to obtain financial compensation or valuable information that will help further their efforts. This can come in the form of selling personal information, demanding a ransom in exchange for releasing files, removing ransomware, and more. When breaching for harm, adversaries seek to inflict reputational harm on their targets, reducing trust from current and prospective customers, and damaging the bottom line.

How Does a Data Breach Happen

Data breaches can happen for a variety of reasons. Brute force attacks, often made easier by weak credentials or stolen login details, can allow adversaries to easily breach the network and gain access to data they are not supposed to obtain. Bad actors can also use social engineering to trick targets into providing information that helps them gain access.

Accidentally mishandling personal information can also lead to data breaches. These can give away credential recovery information or provide a backdoor into a network. They also provide adversaries with nearly free access to the type of information they seek.

Stolen devices are like a free ticket to information. Whether it is a USB drive or a mobile phone, once the adversary accesses the device, they can mine personal information easily if it is on the device. What's more, they can also infect USB devices and return them to the victim, infecting computers when they are plugged in, giving them a chance to access further sensitive network data.

Insider threats are those who work for an organization, but provide access or information to threat actors. They can aid in the physical infiltration of offices, provide credentials or other access, or intentionally share devices with adversaries, giving them the data they seek.

Finally, we have successful hacking efforts. Beyond brute force and credential theft, adversaries can identify and exploit weaknesses in the network to gain access to the information they desire. This is often due to insufficient security practices or unknown vulnerabilities in the network.

The Impact of Data Breaches

Data breaches can have massive monetary, legal, and reputational impacts on enterprises and service providers. When adversaries launch a successful data breach, the ramifications can be long-lasting and severe. Monetary and legal impacts can include fines, penalties, settlements, and more in the wake of a breach. Trust is also eroded when a breach occurs, leaving customers wondering if they can trust a company's security measures if they have been successfully breached in the past.

Preventing Data Breaches

People and security measures are the two key components to combatting data breaches. First, with people, ongoing training is a must to ensure teams are up-to-speed on several security topics, including credential strength and management, how to recognize and report phishing, and more. Regular training to inform teams of the latest attack types and defense strategies is a key step organizations can take to keeping networks secure.

Strong security practices, including a strong cybersecurity platform, are another must-have for organizations. Having scalable solutions in place to monitor and protect your entire network is imperative to keeping adversaries at bay.

How NETSCOUT Helps

NETSCOUT's Omnis Cyber Intelligence provides unmatched scalability and visibility into network activities to prevent adversaries from hiding. Our patented deep packet inspection (DPI)-powered solutions provide teams with the visibility they need at any scale to empower them to swiftly identify and remove bad actors from network environments, reducing the chances of a full data breach or minimizing the damage that is done in the event of an infiltration.