Data protection violations: What they are and how to prevent them
Data privacy incidents can befall organizations of any size, causing various forms of damage, such as financial loss or fines, and even loss of reputation and customer trust. These breaches can be perpetrated through both technical means and human action, often exploiting weaknesses in an organization's security systems and processes.
An increasing number of data protection laws are being introduced around the world that impose specific actions and sanctions in the event of data privacy breaches. At the same time, the amount of consumer data stored and shared online is growing. Therefore, protecting the personal data of users visiting websites, using applications and using connected multimedia devices has never been more important.
Legal considerations are only one aspect of the whole issue. Data leakage seriously damages customers' trust in the company and harms brand reputation. Customers can be exposed to identity theft, fraud and loss of money through no fault of their own. These incidents discourage customers from giving their information to the company, and can lead to the company ending their relationship altogether. This can have serious implications for long-term growth and revenue.
We will go over what a personal data breach is, how it occurs, what the consequences are and how it can be prevented.
How can personal data be defined?
The general terminology for personal data (also called personal information or personally identifiable information) is used uniformly across all data privacy laws.
The text of Article 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) adopts a fairly detailed definition:
information that relates to an actual or potentially identified natural person ("data subject")
A potentially identified natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, primarily by means of an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, as well as one or more specific factors identifying the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the natural person in question
In other words, this refers to personal information that can be used to uniquely identify an individual, whether in electronic or physical form, especially when combined with other information. This information is regularly collected about users during their online activities, such as browsing websites, playing games or shopping online.
Sensitive personal information
Personal data considered sensitive are certain categories of information that are classified as such due to data privacy laws. This data requires special protective measures and treatment.
Among sensitive personal data is information that, if misused, could be more harmful. These can include, for example, specific identification numbers such as passports or social security numbers, financial, health or genetic data, and personal information about religion, politics, sexual orientation or gender identity. There are many data protection laws that automatically classify children's personal information as sensitive.
Personal Data Privacy Breach.
A data breach involves unauthorized, malicious or accidental access, disclosure, alteration or loss of private information, such as names, addresses, social security numbers, email addresses, account details and financial records. Sometimes breaches are intentionally carried out by individuals who recognize the vulnerability of systems. More often, however, breaches are for financial gain.
The weakness in an organization's security is not necessarily the computer systems. Sometimes breaches occur due to manipulation or human error. When an organization discovers the occurrence of a privacy breach on its systems or at a third-party service provider, it is important to take swift action and notify the appropriate parties.
How does a data privacy breach occur?
Data privacy breaches can occur in a variety of ways, such as inadequate corporate security practices, penetration of systems, use of social engineering, data capture through phishing, or physical theft of devices. Those responsible for the breach may be external criminals (such as hackers), employees of the company in question, or external service providers, such as contractors or business partners.
Data privacy violations can affect all kinds of organizations, from corporate companies that do B2B business to tech giants, retail stores and hotel chains. The larger the company, the more data it is likely to store, with greater potential risks.
The degree of data sensitivity varies by organization and sector. For example, a company involved in finance or healthcare stores data with much greater sensitivity than a company that only has information on user account names and email addresses.
Data is often linked between different sources, so a "mere" email address breach is not harmless at all. Especially if that email address is used to match it with other available (or stolen) information to create a more detailed profile of a person.
Sometimes an organization learns of a breach immediately. Other times it can take weeks or months, making mitigation difficult.
Types of information privacy breaches
Information privacy breaches can come in many varieties, including but not limited to:
Unauthorized access - an individual or group oversteps the bounds and gains access to confidential information by bypassing security measures or exploiting vulnerabilities.
Information leakage - accidental disclosure of confidential information due to misconfiguration, human error or malicious intent.
Information loss - accidental or intentional loss of confidential information, often caused by hardware or software failure.
Malware attacks - intrusions using malware, such as viruses, ransomware or spyware, that threaten confidential information.
Social manipulation - manipulation techniques used to persuade people to disclose confidential information, often through phishing emails or fraudulent phone calls.
What is a security incident and how is it different from an information security breach?
An information breach is different from a security incident. A security incident is any event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or security of information. The breached data does not necessarily have to be personal data. Additionally, personal data does not have to be the main target or stolen content of the event.
On the other hand, a personal data breach occurs when there is unauthorized access, disclosure or loss of personal data. For example, if a company experiences a cyberattack that leads to the loss of customer data, this is considered a security incident. However, if the attacker targeted personal data and was able to access it, this is considered a personal data breach.
Exposing personal data to a threat involves risks and sanctions. Misuse of personal data can have serious consequences for individuals and institutions. Precisely determining the damage can be difficult, as it can persist over a long period of time (as was the case in the Aadhaar data breach) and not all damage or malicious use of stolen data must be disclosed.
Those affected by a data breach can experience identity theft, financial loss and loss of reputation. Not to mention the time and stress involved in dealing with such a situation, which can drag on for years.
Risks and penalties associated with data breaches
For organizations, there is a risk of legal and financial penalties from regulators and financial loss related to fines and expenses. Under the RODO, organizations can be fined up to 2 percent or €20 million of annual global turnover, whichever is greater, for violations of various regulations. For repeated or extremely serious violations, a fine of 4 percent or 40 million euros can be imposed.
When must data protection offenses be reported?
In most countries, organizations are obliged to report data protection violations to the relevant authorities. The exact requirements for reporting personal data breaches can vary depending on the country and the type of breach.
For example, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), organizations must report personal data breaches to the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach. There may not be a specific deadline in other regulations, but notification should be made within a "reasonable" time.
Companies must also inform affected individuals if the breach could threaten their rights and freedoms. It is common for organizations to offer injured customers various additional forms of redress, such as free access to credit monitoring and report generation for one or two years.
How to prevent personal data breaches?
Ways to prevent personal data breaches require a combination of technological and organizational measures. Some key steps organizations can take to avoid a personal data breach include:
Conducting a data audit by organizations to understand what data is collected and stored, where it is stored, how it is secured, who has access to it, and for what purpose.
Appointing a data protection officer to oversee data protection processes and enforce compliance. This is a requirement of some data privacy laws.
Conducting regular security assessments to detect vulnerabilities and proactively address them.
Implementing effective access control measures, such as two-step authentication and user role-based access.
Providing regular training for employees to raise security awareness to help them recognize and avoid common security threats, such as phishing attacks.
Encrypt sensitive data both during transmission and storage.
Developing and implementing a comprehensive data protection policy that outlines how personal data is collected, used, stored and shared. Publishing this information publicly, such as on a website, is required by most data privacy laws.
Limit the amount of personal data collected, the length of time it is kept and the people who have access to it to the minimum necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected.
What should be done in the event of a data privacy breach?
When a breach of personal data privacy occurs, it is important to take immediate action to mitigate the impact of such a breach and comply with the law. According to many data privacy regulations, if an accused organization reports a breach, it has a certain amount of time to correct it. During this time, the organization can take steps to resolve the problem and prevent its recurrence. If the organization complies with its obligations during the remediation period, which usually lasts between 30 and 90 days, it will be able to avoid the imposition of fines and other sanctions related to the breach.
Some important steps to take in the event of a data breach:
Stop the breach by disconnecting the affected systems from the network and restricting access to sensitive information.
Evaluating the consequences of the breach to determine which information has been breached and what risks exist for those involved in the incident.
Notifying the relevant institutions and affected individuals in accordance with applicable laws and policies.
If possible, recovering the breached data or destroying it.
Conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the breach and identify any potential vulnerabilities that need to be corrected.
Implement measures to prevent similar breaches in the future. These measures may include system modifications, but also training or firing employees.
