A security breach is a violation of policies or laws designed to protect something. It can involve bypassing security checkpoints, compromising confidential information, or weakening defined security interests. Laws vary by country and industry, but most require entities to take precautions to protect sensitive information and notify affected individuals of breaches. Companies must ensure compliance with relevant security laws, which can be challenging as laws change with technology.
In general, a security breach is a violation of any policy or law designed to protect something. When people or vehicles bypass security checkpoints or enter secure buildings without presenting proper credentials, security breaches are usually obvious. Less obvious are security breaches involving data or information. In a data context, a security breach is any activity that compromises the confidential nature of certain information.
In most cases, what is or is not a security breach is defined by law. Many countries’ statutes establish safeguards for any number of things, from border crossings to data sharing and e-commerce transactions. A breach is generally defined as any action, intentional or otherwise, that weakens some defined security interest.
The most notorious security breaches usually cause obvious damage. Clear examples are an airport security breach that allows a passenger to board a plane with a weapon, or a data leak that leads to identity theft. Under most security breach laws, however, damage is not always a requirement. The threat of harm, or the likelihood of harm, is usually sufficient.
Security breach laws in most countries operate on the basis of the probability of harm both to create incentives for stringent security practices and to punish misconduct without waiting to see if anyone or anything is harmed first. While the punishments for violations can be severe by law, the overriding goal is usually safety. Particularly when it comes to data and information security breaches, even the likelihood of damage is often enough to initiate important protective actions.
As more and more sensitive information is stored online, the possibilities of Internet security and computer security breaches become ever more real, and with them the possibility of identity theft, serious financial loss, or other harm. Most data security laws require any entity that regularly collects or stores sensitive information to take certain precautions when it comes to protecting that information. More often than not, data must be protected with a series of passwords and electronic keys. Mobile data, especially data stored on employee laptops or other portable hardware, usually needs to be protected against inadvertent disclosure or data breach if it is lost or stolen.
Laws are often further specialized by industry. Many countries have health data security laws that are different from laws governing financial information and the possibility of breaching the security of credit cards, for example. Each country, and sometimes within each country, each state or province, has different laws and mandatory security policies. Most also have laws related to how affected individuals must be notified if their information has been part of a security breach. Patients whose files have been inadvertently posted on the Internet, students whose academic records have been hacked from a university database, and others whose information has been compromised in some way are generally entitled to at least notification, if not pay and compensation. return.
Differences in what laws require can make it difficult for companies operating in multiple jurisdictions to ensure their security practices are universally compliant. As laws change and evolve with technology, so must individual safety practices. Most of the time, companies employ compliance officers, lawyers and data security analysts to oversee all data and other information exchanges and to ensure that all relevant security laws are being complied with.
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