Introduction

Cyber breaches have a massive impact on a business’s security; they not just hinder operations or disclose sensitive information, but can incur huge losses for some companies, pushing them to shut down.

The most common type of security breach is a data breach. According to statistics, data breaches rose by 70% in quarter 3 of 2022, with the cost of a single breach averaging about $3.62 million in losses (global figure).

Data breaches aren’t just temporary disruptions and can cause long-term complications for businesses, customers, and even regional governments. Therefore, it is essential to learn about them and enable the most adept mitigation solutions to defend against data breaches.

What is a data breach?

A data breach is a security incident that compromises computer data, systems, applications, and devices and exposes sensitive, confidential, or protected information without the authorization of the organization. A data breach is different from a data leak in terms of the intent, meaning, that a data breach is often a targeted attack. In contrast, a leak may be intentional or unintentional.

Data breach allows cybercriminals to view sensitive information such as customers’ financial data, credentials, etc, which they can use for conducting secondary attacks. Anyone can experience a data breach — from individuals to small, and large organizations and even the government if they aren’t vigilant and protected.

Data breaches and leaks can result in serious consequences for companies and their customers. It can lead to cybercrimes such as identity theft, financial loss, reputational damage, legal penalties, loss of customer trust, loss of intellectual property, etc.

How does a data breach happen?

A data breach happens when a threat group bypasses your network security to gain unauthorized access to your data. This is usually due to inferior cybersecurity technology or human error that opens entry points for cybercriminals to access information.

While most data breaches are a result of malware attacks, other methods adopted by threat actors include

Social engineering: it is a form of psychological manipulation to trick users into doing a required action. Threat actors trick users to make security errors to gain access to sensitive information or penetrate further into a corporate network. Phishing, malware attacks, ransomware, etc can all begin with social engineering tactics to interact with a company’s employees.

Vendors/suppliers/contractors: data breaches can occur when third-party vendors, who have access to sensitive data, are compromised in order to gain access to compartmentalized information of a business’s customers, partners, or employees.

Physical theft or loss: data breaches can occur when physical devices such as laptops, smartphones, or USB drives render sensitive data unreadable or are stolen, or misplaced.

Unwavering security practices: unfollowed or weak security measures such as feeble passwords, non-updated software, non-encrypted data or public/ unsecured networks can make systems vulnerable to data breaches.

Insider threats: going by the name, an insider threat emerges from within the company. People who have access to your internal network and data can be a potential threat vector as they may intentionally or unintentionally misuse their access to sensitive data.

Common vulnerability exposures (CVEs): at times, data breaches happen when companies ignore the common vulnerability exposures (CVEs) or install the latest patch. Through CVEs or patch exploitation, threat actors exploit the security gaps to conduct cyber attacks.

Phases of a data breach

Target Research

The first stage begins with extensive research on the part of threat actors as they scout for their target and begin researching the information available – such as employee systems, and networks – all to understand the kind of infrastructure a company has and the vulnerabilities that can be exposed. They may also look at their client, partner information, and public records.

Vulnerability identification

This allows cybercriminals to identify weaknesses (vulnerabilities) in a business’s system, infrastructure, network, etc, that can be exposed. They may look to exploit incompetent security software, simple passwords, etc. Therefore, it is suggested that organizations maintain a prime level of cybersecurity hygiene and leverage services such as security assessment, penetration testing, etc offered by leading cybersecurity providers to assess their system’s weaknesses and mend them before adversaries find them.

Attack

Once the attackers have complete oversight of your company’s infrastructure and potential entry points, they use specific TTPs to steal, alter or restrict data or gain control of your network.  They may initiate a network-based attack (brute-force attacks, SQL injections, denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), spoofing, bot attack) or a  social attack (social engineering tactics such as phishing to trigger the user to provide their personal details or enable them to link on malicious email links that helps criminals access files, applications, etc).

Data Exfiltration

Once inside the network, the attacker is free to extract data from the company’s network. This data may be used to conduct secondary attacks such as ransomware, fraud, identity theft, etc.

Are there tell-tale signs of a data breach?

If you’re experiencing abrupt closing of files, slow internet, abnormal access patterns, and suspicious/direct threat emails – all these are indicators of a data breach. It is recommended to never shrug these indicators off at the first sign of their occurrence and dig deeper into the activities such as

Network behavior: unexpected or anomalous network patterns, which are unusual communication between the systems can be a sign of someone attempting to access data. Be on the lookout for the following

  • new software installations
  • malware detections
  • login attempts
  • unauthorized scans
  • export of a large amount of data, etc.

Database activity: changes in database activity, such as users, and permission changes, is a sign of internal/external unauthorized access and a potential cyber threat.

Account abuse: account abuse is one of the most common signs of a data breach, and the indicators could range from multiple login failures, ambiguous account activities (such as using at odd hours or bulk messages), and even the creation of newer accounts.

User access: if an unidentified/ external party gains access to data or systems, it could indicate an attempt for a data breach. It is smart to carefully analyze the access logs to track user activity such as unusual requests, the same IP address for multiple user accounts, remote access, etc

File changes: unauthorized modifications, additions, and configuration changes to files can hint at a data breach, meaning the attacker is trying to gain access to that information. Also, if there are log files containing records of user activity being deleted,  it could imply that the attacker is trying to cover their tracks.

What can you do to prevent a data breach?

  • Employee education: educating your employees is crucial in preventing data breaches, as a number of cyber risks are triggered due to human error. Employees should be constantly reinstated on the risks pertaining to data leaks or breaches, how to secure sensitive information, how to identify suspicious activity, and the need for immediate reporting.
    This will help them gain a sense of responsibility and more importantly, be an active part of safeguarding your company’s data assets.
  • Constant network monitoring: keeping tabs on your network activity can nab any suspicious activity in real-time. Through leveraging monitoring tools, businesses can identify anomalous behavior and alert security teams to potential security incidents. This leads to quick responses and recovery, ensuring no time is spared for further damage.
  • Data encryption: encryption is the process of converting plain text data into a coded format that can only be decrypted by authorized parties with access to the encryption key. So, by encrypting data, people make it difficult for unauthorized parties to access sensitive information.
  • Update systems regularly: patched and updated systems and networks help prevent data breaches by addressing known security vulnerabilities and reducing the risk of cyberattacks. Traditional security tools such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware software are needed to add a protection layer against data breaches. However, as the attack maneuvers of cybercriminals become increasingly complex, it is smart for businesses to invest in next-gen automated solutions to stay fully risk-averse.
  • Strong password policies: improving the strength of your passwords can make it difficult for intruders to gain unwarranted access to your system. Long and strong passwords also are difficult to decipher even by automation tools that crack sensitive passwords through permutation combinations. However, it is best advised to use an additional layer 2FA, MFA for improved security.
  • Regular risk assessments: risk assessments are critical to proactively manage and stop cyber risks that may lead to data breaches. Assessment is a part of comprehensive risk management that also includes training employees to report suspicious activities at the earliest, conducting monitoring of systems, and building contingency plans in case of an incident.

Defend your business against data breaches with Group-IB

Data is the impetus behind the sustainability and success of business operations, and therefore, needs to be vehemently protected. As organizations go global, their data is becoming increasingly dispersed, making it challenging to manage and mitigate risks including breaches.

Organizations should leverage a cutting-edge technology solution that helps them gain complete visibility and control over who is able to access their network. Here’s how Group-IB Digital Risk Protection offers data leak detection by monitoring a range of open and dark web sources to uncover code repositories and other private information belonging to your organization.

As the probability of experiencing a data breach cannot be zero, even if you have defenses in place, it is absolutely essential to have an incident response plan. As a part of your data security and risk remediation strategy, it helps analyze and secure all affected data, applications, and devices, as well as isolate the compromised data to restrict containment.

Also note: In case, you are experiencing a data breach and need support with understanding the impact and extent of the damage or planning the immediate remediation steps, please contact GIB-CERT (available 24×7) for assistance.