![]() ![]() ![]() North Carolina public health officials stated that they would remind their staff to encrypt emails with confidential data and they would search for tools that can encrypt emails automatically to avoid human error in the future.īack to Table of Contents How to Prevent Data LeakageĪs with any cybersecurity topic, there is no definitive answer for avoiding data leakage 100% of the time. Under HIPAA covered entities are held to stringent network and data security requirements. HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is a security compliance framework that is specific to the healthcare industry. While in this example they did not detect any sign of these internal resources being breached, the lack of encryption created the potential for a data breach, making the incident a HIPAA violation. In 2015 Data Breach Today reported on two incidents where healthcare staff members at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services sent unencrypted email messages containing PHI to other local health departments in the state. Example 2: Lax Email Security in the Healthcare Services Industry The exposed database contained nearly 340 million individual records, many of which contained personally identifiable information of individuals. In June of 2018 security researcher Vinny Troia discovered an unprotected database that belonged to Exactis, a compiler and aggregator of business and consumer data. ![]() ![]() They will also be required to perform validation on their existing controls and practices to prevent future attacks, data leakage, and/or data breaches.īack to Table of Contents Data Leakage Examples Example 1: Exactis Data Leak They must notify any supervisory authorities about the sensitive information that was made accessible to the public as the data leakage could have provided an opportunity for exfiltration. Though data leaks will often not directly lead to a breach, the offending organizations are still required to perform similar incident response plans. When sensitive information is exposed to unauthorized parties through a data leak or malicious attacks it can result in serious consequences for the organization such as compliance violations, financial penalties, loss of competitive edge, and becoming a more viable target for a spear-phishing attack. While a breach can be made more viable through these factors, they require purposeful effort from a cybercriminal to occur. While data leaks and data breaches are similar (and the terms are often used interchangeably), the core difference is that a data breach describes when an attack results in a threat actor accessing sensitive data, whereas a data leak describes the accidental exposure of sensitive data.ĭata leakage often occurs due to security vulnerabilities, poor data protection practices, human error, or accidental inaction by a user. Printers: When confidential documents are left in the printer tray the sensitive information on them is at risk of being exposed to unauthorized users.Portable Devices: When unencrypted removable media devices, laptops, and other portable devices with sensitive information are lost the data could be leaked without the knowledge of the company.Cloud Leak: Unsecured cloud servers are left exposed to the internet, allowing sensitive information to be leaked to unauthorized parties.When data leakage occurs a cybercriminal can gain unauthorized access to sensitive information without needing to bypass security controls. The term “Data Leakage” describes any event where confidential information is exposed to potential unauthorized access. What is a Data Leak? How is it Different From a Data Breach? Use a Secure Email Gateway to Prevent Accidental Disclosure.Perform Regular Vulnerability Assessments.Monitor the Computer Activity of Employees.What is a Data Leak? How is it Different From a Data Breach?. ![]()
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