Organizations process huge amounts of information about customers, employees and business partners. The growing number of cyberattacks makes data security one of the most important challenges for companies and private users. Even a single incident can lead to serious financial and image consequences.
What is a data leak?
A data leak is a situation in which there is unauthorized disclosure or loss of confidential information. Such an incident may result from a cyberattack, employee error or improper security of systems. Information leakage may mean a breach of personal data protection and require action in accordance with the GDPR. For corporate data, however, it may lead to a breach of organizational security, business secrets, loss of competitive advantage or serious image damage.
Data leaks most often occur as a result of phishing, malware, the use of weak passwords and user errors. High-profile incidents, such as the data leak from morele.net, show the consequences of data leaks: financial and image.
What data is most often disclosed?
During a data leak, cybercriminals can seize various types of information. The most common are:
- personal data and contact details,
- identification data, including PESEL numbers,
- email and password data leakage
- financial data and health data,
- other sensitive user data.
Publishing data that allows fraud or incurring financial obligations is particularly dangerous. If the PESEL number is disclosed, you should register the PESEL number in mObywatel or via gov.pl, as well as monitoring attempts to use the data, e.g. when concluding contracts or incurring financial obligations.
Effects of data leaks on people and companies
A data leak can lead to serious consequences for individuals and organizations. For users, it means the risk of identity theft, loss of money or data being used for fraud. Employees and students are particularly vulnerable, as their data is often found in large organizational databases.The most common effects of a hacker attack and information leakage are:
- loss of customer trust,
- risk of violating user rights,
- financial and legal problems,
- image losses,
- the need to implement remedial measures,
- costly responding to security incidents.
In many cases, organizations must invest in post-breach support and a thorough analysis of the incident to limit the effects of the incident.
How to protect against leakage and what to do if data has been leaked?
Protection against data leakage requires regular prevention and a conscious approach to digital security. Basic preventive measures include using long and unique passwords, enabling MFA, and regularly updating systems and applications.
The cybersecurity audit is also of great importance, as it allows you to detect vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of information leakage. Organizations should train employees and develop procedures for responding to incidents, for example using phishing simulations as part of Practical Anti-Phishing Training.
vIf a data breach has occurred, review what information was exposed, change passwords for affected accounts, enable MFA, and log out active sessions. In the event of a leak of PESEL numbers, you should register them in mObywatel or via gov.pl and monitoring credit activity to limit the potential effects of the incident.
FAQ – data leak
What to do after a data leak?
After a data leak, you should change passwords, secure accounts, and check what information was exposed. In some situations, it is also worth blocking your PESEL number.
How to check for data leakage?
Data leaks can be checked using websites monitoring security breaches – preferably from the government website bezpieczdane.gov.pl. At gov.pl you can also check who downloaded your data from the Personal Identity Card Register or the PESEL database.
