What is a breach?

A data breach occurs when a cyber criminal successfully infiltrates a data source and extracts sensitive and personal information. This can be done physically by accessing a computer or network to steal local files or by bypassing network security remotely. The latter is often the method used to target companies.

The following are the steps usually involved in a typical breach operation at a server side of operations that handle your online accounts:

• Research:

  The cyber criminal looks for weaknesses in the company’s security (people, systems, or network).

• Attack:

  The cyber criminal makes initial contact using either a network or social attack.

• Network / Social Attack:

  A network attack occurs when a cyber criminal uses infrastructure, system, and application weaknesses to infiltrate an organization’s network. Social attacks involve tricking or baiting employees into giving access to the company’s network. An employee can be duped into giving his / her login credentials or may be fooled into opening a malicious attachment.

• Ex-filtration:

  Once the cyber criminal gets into one computer, he / she can then attack the network and tunnel his / her way to confidential company data. Once the hacker extracts the data, the attack is considered successful.

How to protect yourself from online account breach?

• Use a different password for every account
• Create strong passwords
• Make strong security questions
• Use a password manager
• Use two-factor authentication
• Sign up for account breach alerts from Cyberior Digital Identity Protection