06/14/2023

Minding Your Data Leaks: Simple Steps to Help Prevent Leaks

FORTRA

If you mention data leakage to most people, they may think that it sounds like a problem for a plumber, but the phrase “data leak” has specific and troubling concerns for a business. Data leakage is a particular security threat, and there are many sources for data leaks.

Data Breach Versus Data Leak

• Data breaches occur when an attacker from outside your organization gets into your IT ecosystem and steals private or sensitive information.
• Data leaks occur from the inside out. This happens when someone inside the organization shares confidential data with unauthorized recipients or leaves a gap that enables that information to be easily accessed by people who shouldn’t see it.

Data leaks can originate from a variety of sources; a quickly sent email, a seemingly innocent comment in a chat room, or even a comment on social media posted with the best of intentions. In professional settings, information in a support ticketing system or information transferred to a personal web portal account can also result in a data leak. Generally, anywhere that data travels has the potential for leakage if the proper precautions are not observed. Like a data breach, a data leak can have a lot of unpleasant consequences. It can result in lawsuits and regulatory penalties. Unfortunately, it’s often due to unwitting human error, an accident.

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