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Unauthorized access or exfiltration of protected data.

Definition

A data breach involves unauthorized access to systems and disclosure or exfiltration of protected data, often requiring notification and response actions.

In plain English Unauthorized access or exfiltration of protected data.

Why this matters

Why it matters: It elevates risk of identity theft, account compromise, and regulatory penalties.

Example

Example: Threat actor exfiltrates PII from a misconfigured database.