A security breach (also “data breach”, “security incident”, or “security compromise”) is an incident that results in unauthorized access to data, applications, services, networks, or devices. This type of incident can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of sensitive information, resulting in exposure of personal data, financial losses, reputation damage, and possible violations of regulatory compliance such as GDPR, CCPA, and other data protection regulations, being fundamental to implement prevention, detection, and incident response strategies to minimize the impact of these incidents.

What is a Security Breach?

A security breach is any incident that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information or systems.

Types of Breaches

By Access Method

  • Stolen credentials: Use of compromised credentials
  • Vulnerabilities: Vulnerability exploitation
  • Malware: Malware infection
  • Social engineering: User manipulation

By Data Type

  • PII: Personally identifiable information
  • PHI: Protected health information
  • PCI: Payment card information
  • Intellectual: Intellectual property

By Scope

  • Internal: Internal breaches
  • External: External breaches
  • Hybrid: Combination of both
  • Systemic: Affects multiple systems

Breach Phases

Detection

  • Monitoring: Monitoring systems
  • Alerts: Automatic alerts
  • Analysis: Event analysis
  • Confirmation: Incident confirmation

Containment

  • Isolation: System isolation
  • Blocking: Access blocking
  • Preservation: Evidence preservation
  • Communication: Internal communication

Investigation

  • Forensics: Forensic analysis
  • Timeline: Event reconstruction
  • Scope: Scope determination
  • Impact: Impact assessment

Recovery

  • Cleaning: Threat removal
  • Restoration: System restoration
  • Validation: Security validation
  • Monitoring: Continuous monitoring

Impacts

Financial

  • Fines: Regulatory penalties
  • Lawsuits: Legal costs
  • Revenue loss: Business interruption
  • Remediation costs: Recovery expenses

Reputational

  • Trust: Loss of trust
  • Reputation: Reputation damage
  • Customers: Customer loss
  • Partners: Impact on relationships

Operational

  • Interruption: Service interruption
  • Productivity: Productivity loss
  • Resources: Resource usage
  • Time: Recovery time

Prevention

Technical Controls

  • Encryption: Data encryption
  • Access: Access control
  • Monitoring: Continuous monitoring
  • Patches: Patch management

Administrative Controls

  • Policies: Security policies
  • Procedures: Security procedures
  • Training: Staff training
  • Audits: Regular audits

Physical Controls

  • Access: Physical access control
  • Devices: Device security
  • Media: Media protection
  • Facilities: Facility security

Breach Response

Response Plan

  • Team: Response team
  • Roles: Role definition
  • Procedures: Response procedures
  • Communication: Communication plan

Notification

  • Internal: Internal notification
  • Regulators: Notification to regulators
  • Customers: Notification to customers
  • Media: Communication with media

Recovery

  • Cleaning: System cleaning
  • Restoration: Service restoration
  • Validation: Security validation
  • Improvements: Improvement implementation
  • Incident Response - Process for responding to security breaches
  • Attack Vectors - Methods that cause security breaches
  • Patient 0 - First system compromised in a breach
  • IOC - Indicators of compromise in breaches
  • APT - Persistent threats that cause breaches
  • SIEM - System that detects security breaches
  • SOAR - Automation of response to breaches
  • EDR - Tool that detects breaches
  • Firewall - Device that prevents breaches
  • Antivirus - Tool that prevents breaches
  • Hardening - Hardening that prevents breaches
  • CISO - Role that manages security breaches
  • Ransomware - Type of malware that causes security breaches
  • DRP - Recovery plan for security breaches

References