Cybersecurity Glossary
Data Breach
An event in which personal or confidential information is exposed, taken or altered without authorisation.
What Data Breach means
A breach is not only theft by an outsider. Sending a spreadsheet to the wrong address, losing an unencrypted laptop or misconfiguring a cloud folder all qualify. What follows is defined by law: assessment, notification of authorities within a set period, and often notification of the individuals affected.
Why Data Breach matters for small businesses and nonprofits
The direct costs are investigation, legal advice and notification. The lasting costs are client confidence and, for a nonprofit, funder confidence. Both are heavily influenced by how quickly and how openly the organisation responds.
What to do about Data Breach
- Know your notification deadline and who must be told, before an incident happens
- Encrypt devices, since that changes the legal analysis of a loss
- Keep logs that let you establish what was actually accessed
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