Understanding How To Best Deal With a Personal Data Breach

The best defense is you if you learn how to respond best.

When news hits of another major data breach hitting a large financial institution or conglomerate, most of the focus goes on the business and not enough on the individual whose personal data was also likely stolen in the attack.

The truth is, the real victims of data theft are the clients of those businesses. A large credit company might take a PR hit, they have professionals to deal with that, and they generally have the tools to weather the occasional attack. The consumer, however, doesn’t have the same advantages at their disposal as their personal data is abused or sold on the dark web.

Large or small, a data breach can be serious business for the individual consumer.

What constitutes a data breach?

What counts as a data breach? Essentially, it’s any situation in which information is accessed without proper permission. Sure, cybercriminals targeting multi-million dollar companies are conducting data breaches, but many breaches occur daily among small businesses.

It could be as simple as someone forgetting to log out of a networked computer and another person coming along and viewing the information available at that desk without authorization.

Any time information is accessed without permission counts as a data breach — even if it occurs accidentally or through non-criminal means.

What data gets stolen in a data breach?

All data has some value, although, granted, some are more sensitive or valuable than others. While TV shows and movies like to weave stories around dramatic acts of corporate espionage and stolen secrets, it’s the personal information that is more often a target.

Bad actors can use your email, social media, or your calendar to find out when you’re next going on vacation and then target your home for burglary. They can steal and sell credit card numbers. They can take your browsing histories and sell them to other hackers who can then customize phishing attacks to trick you into installing malware, leading to more devastating attacks.

They can steal your identity. That’s a nightmare you don’t want to experience.

Once taken during a breach, where does your data go?

Usually, it’s bundled with other peoples’ data and sold to the highest bidder on the dark web. From there, cybercriminals will sift through it and redistribute it to other cybercriminals. Your data could also end up in the hands of data brokers and marketing companies. It’s also sometimes sold to people-finder sites. The more information they have on you, the better they can sell their services. It all becomes very gray in a legal sense, but it’s a booming business just the same.

What to look out for

The most common technique for data theft involves phishing and malware attacks. They tend not to require much work on the hacker’s part and can be executed using wholesale mass emails.

Malware that they try to sneak into phishing attacks can include:

• Ransomware — your data is encrypted until you pay the hackers a ransom
• Keyloggers — criminals can read everything you type, including login info and passwords
• Botnet malware — allows a third party to use your computer to execute attacks on other computers
• Tech support scam — An email claiming to be tech support tries to trick you into sharing login and password information

What should I do following a data breach?

• Cancel and replace compromised credit cards at once. As soon as you get a new card, activate it so you can be confident your account has been de-linked from the stolen card.
• Change your passwords every few months, avoid using the same password more than once, and never use the same password across multiple sites.
• If your social security number has been compromised, freeze your credit bureau report. You’ll only need to contact one of the three major creditor bureaus (Experience, Equifax, or TransUnion), and they’re required to notify the other two on your behalf.
• Keep an eye out for small charges that can’t be explained. It may be a sign of larger, unauthorized transactions to come.
• Take advantage of the free credit monitoring some companies will offer following a data breach.
• Remember that you are entitled to a free credit report once a year from each credit bureau.

Prevention is the best defense against data breaches

Be mindful of what you do online.

Not everything about you has to go on social media.

While being suspicious of everything seems exhausting, it’s not a bad idea when it comes to interacting with people and businesses online — especially if they’re new or unfamiliar.

If you suspect your data has been stolen, don’t wait. Assume the worst and take steps to protect yourself.

For the most part, much of the online world isn’t all that bad. Good people work hard to keep it as safe and secure as possible. It’s in their best interests.

But the best person to look out for your data’s safety is you.

Thank you for reading. I’d love to share more with you via my Bi-Weekly Word Roundup newsletter sent to subscribers every other Sunday. It will feature news, productivity tips, life hacks, and links to top stories making the rounds on the Internet. You can unsubscribe at any time.