What is a Data Breach: How do they Breach Security?

04 March 2025

Businesses nowadays need to identify early signs of a security breach as cyber threats are evolving rapidly. Breach is caused by external hackers as well as internal vulnerabilities, contributing to revealing sensitive information, interrupting operations, and destroying a reputation. Knowing these signs can prevent a data breach from turning into a severe data protection breach.

1. Unusual Account Activity: A Warning Sign of a Security Breach

Changes in user accounts are one of the very first signs that something is not right when it comes to user accounts and possible security breach:

• User Accounts on Unfamiliar Locations or Devices: This is an indication of unauthorised access if user accounts are accessed from new locations or devices.
• Security Settings, Passwords and user permissions: any change not authorised by an approved person.
• Red flag: If a new user seems to be without legitimate reasons, there is probably an unrecognised Account.

If any of the signs mentioned above appear, action has to be taken immediately to avoid data loss and unauthorised access. Dark web monitoring services are advantageous as they will alert us before our credentials are stolen.

2. Data Leaks: How Sensitive Information Gets Exposed

Consequently, misconfigured databases, unprotected cloud storage, or insider negligence has caused many organisations to suffer from data leaks. So, what is a data leak?

A data leak occurs when unsafe handling methods and badly managed password systems allow secrets to escape. Data leaks differ from data breaches because human errors, weak authentication, insufficient online storage and authentication methods lead to such incidents.

3. Suspicious Network Traffic: Common Cause of Data Protection Breaches

Unprotected personal and sensitive data released to unauthorised parties constitutes a data protection breach. The breach of personal information occurs through irregular network system behaviours. But how can unusual network behaviour indicate a security incident?

• Mass data transmissions occur without clarification of their destination.
• The system records numerous failed authentication requests, which exceed normal working hour intervals.
• Security issues may exist when internal devices initiate connections to obscure external servers.

Organisations must use managed cybersecurity services to track network activity and identify abnormal behaviours before a complete data breach occurs.

4. Unexpected Downtime and Performance Issues: Is it a Security Breach?

Malware, together with ransomware and unauthorised system access, could be detected through unexpected changes in system performance. But what is a security breach? concerning the system’s performance.

Attackers who successfully access organisational data and systems and applications qualify as security breach perpetrators. System integrity suffers damage when cybercriminals deploy malware because it results in:

• System speeds slow down because malware operates while hidden in the background of the system.
• Unstable system crashes frequently appear due to tampering with the system.
• The program uses the technique of locked files to encrypt your files while demanding ransom money to restore access.

There are data loss protection models that help to secure your data, but what is data loss protection?

The data loss protection system detects data breach risks while data exfiltration occurs through scanning activities that both spot and halt sensitive information in active use mode as well as in transport movement and storage states.

5. GDPR Compliance: What to do If Your Data Has Been Breached

All businesses conducting operations in the UK need to fulfil the requirements of GDPR. But gdpr what is a data breach, or in easier terms you can say, what is a data protection breach, according to these regulations?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, a data breach occurs when a security incident activates undesired alterations, losses, or destructions of personal information or its unauthorised sharing. An organisation must file their breach report within 72 hours to avoid severe financial consequences.

How to Tackle data breach?

• The compromised systems need to be separated from regular operations to stop unauthorised access.
• Examine the affected zone to determine what information fell into the wrong hands and measure the threats to individuals in jeopardy.
• All major data breaches require notification to the Information Commissioner’s Office, according to GDPR rules.
• The organisation needs to notify both customers and employees when risks to their information exist.
• The organisation should deploy data loss protection tools because this enables them to block future incidents.

If your business experiences a data protection breach, swift action is necessary. Learn how to respond to cyberattacks.

Conclusion

Recognising the signs of a data breach is only the first step. To gain a considerable reduction of the cyber threats, you can take passive and active steps such as proactive security measures, regular audits, and strong data loss protection policies.

This means that if a business stays vigilant and adheres to industry best practices, data leaks and security breaches will have minimal impact on a business’s sensitive information.

Worried about a potential data breach? Our expert-managed cybersecurity solutions can help detect and prevent threats before they cause damage. Secure Your Business Today.