What is a data leak?
A data leak or data breach occurs when sensitive, confidential, or private information is released or accessed by an unauthorized party. This commonly affects large companies or organizations that store personal data on their customers and users. When a data leak happens, cybercriminals may gain access to individual’s names, email addresses, passwords, financial information, or other private details.
Some of the most common causes of data leaks include:
- Hacks or breaches of company networks and databases
- Accidental releases by insiders or employees
- Weak or compromised security systems
- Phishing scams that trick users into revealing info
- Physical theft of devices or records
Major data leaks often involve millions of user records being exposed. This puts individuals at risk for identity theft, financial fraud, extortion schemes, and other types of attacks or abuse of their information.
How do you know if your account is part of a data leak?
There are a few potential signs that your personal data may have been compromised in a leak:
- You receive notification from the impacted company informing you of the breach.
- Suspicious activity appears on your accounts, bills, or credit reports.
- You start receiving more spam, junk mail, or suspicious emails/calls.
- Your credentials stop working to access your accounts.
- Monitoring services alert you of your info appearing on the dark web.
However, companies do not always notify affected individuals in the wake of a data breach. Other indications that your info was leaked can include:
- Multiple unknown login attempts on your accounts
- Failing security questions you know the answers to
- Noticeable uptick in advertisements aimed toward you
- Accounts opened fraudulently using your identity
- Drastic changes in your credit scores
Being proactive about monitoring your accounts and credit reports is key to identifying problems early. You can also use available tools to check if your email or passwords show up in known data breaches.
What are the risks if your personal info is leaked?
Having your personal information exposed in a data breach puts you at greater risk for:
- Identity theft – Criminals can use your compromised data to impersonate you, open new accounts, make purchases, file taxes, access benefits, and commit fraud.
- Financial theft – Bank account details, credit/debit cards, and other financial info can be used to steal your money or make unauthorized transactions.
- Security threats – Reused passwords can give hackers access to your other online accounts, while security questions can help them reset your passwords.
- Scams and extortion – Your leaked info helps scammers sound more convincing in phishing attempts, or may be used to embarrass/harm you.
- Public exposure – Personal details like your phone number, home address, or dates of birth being leaked erodes your privacy and puts your physical safety at risk.
In severe cases, victims of identity theft following a data breach may spend countless hours and large sums of money repairing damage done to their credit, finances, and reputation.
Steps to take if your account is involved in a data leak
Here are important steps to take right away if your personal information appears to be compromised in a data breach:
- Contact the company. Alert the breached organization so they can verify the incident and take actions on their end.
- Change usernames, passwords. Update credentials on affected accounts and any other accounts that may have shared/reused passwords.
- Place fraud alerts. Contact credit agencies to place alerts warning of potential identity theft risks.
- Monitor accounts closely. Review account activity daily to spot any suspicious transactions or problems.
- Freeze credit. Lock down credit files so no new accounts can be opened without approval.
- Sign up for credit monitoring. Ongoing credit monitoring services can notify you of suspicious credit activity.
- File an ID theft report. If accounts were compromised or opened fraudulently, report it to the FTC and local authorities.
Taking preventative measures quickly can minimize the damage from a breach. Be wary of any unsolicited contacts claiming to be the breached company, as scammers often leverage data leaks.
How to reduce your risk of being impacted by a future data leak
While you can’t completely control if your data is exposed in a breach, smart personal practices can reduce your risks:
- Use unique, complex passwords on all accounts and enable 2-factor authentication when possible.
- Limit sharing of personal information online or with companies.
- Watch out for phishing scams asking you to verify account details.
- Regularly check credit reports and account activity for signs of misuse.
- Periodically search sites like HaveIBeenPwned to check if emails or passwords have been breached.
- Consider using a password manager to generate and store secure passwords.
- Be cautious of public Wi-Fi networks and insecure sites transmitting your data.
- Keep software, operating systems, and security programs up-to-date to fix weaknesses.
Following strong security habits makes it much harder for your accounts and identity to be compromised in the first place.
Can you get compensation if your info is leaked?
In some cases, companies may provide complimentary credit monitoring or identity protection services to affected customers after a data breach. However, individuals do not have an automatic right to sue for damages related to a leak of their personal data.
You may be able to take legal action if you can demonstrate you suffered concrete financial losses, reimbursement costs, or other specific harms directly due to a company’s negligence in allowing your data to be breached. Successful lawsuits tend to involve very large, damaging breaches with strong evidence of the company’s liability.
Class action lawsuits following major security incidents like the Equifax breach have resulted in settlement funds being made available to impacted consumers. Participating in a class action suit may offer the best chance of receiving direct compensation for your losses.
Regardless of whether damages can be recovered, notifying the organization, monitoring your accounts, and taking preventive action are still critical steps if you’re entangled in a data leak. Being proactive remains your first line of defense.
How are companies addressing data leaks?
In response to rampant data breaches and growing public concern, new regulations are holding companies more accountable for safeguarding users’ personal information. Key measures include:
- Stringent data security requirements for storing and transmitting sensitive data.
- Expanding liability around handling and protecting consumer data.
- Mandatory rapid reporting of significant breaches and exposures.
- Right-to-know regulations empowering consumers to access their stored personal data.
- Establishing dedicated government privacy oversight bodies and powers.
- Enabling group consumer litigation in the aftermath of major breaches.
- Increased penalties for companies following negligence resulting in leaks.
Many organizations are also adopting stricter internal policies and controls around data usage, storage, encryption, access restrictions, network protections, and employee training. However, data exposures remain an uphill challenge given the vast amounts of consumer information companies amass and the sophistication of hackers and cybercriminals.
Largest consumer data breaches and leaks
Company | Records exposed | Date occurred |
---|---|---|
Yahoo | 3 billion | 2013-14 |
First American Financial Corp | 885 million | 2019 |
Exactis | 340 million | 2018 |
MyFitnessPal | 151 million | 2018 |
148 million | 2018 | |
EQUIFAX | 147 million | 2017 |
Under Armor | 150 million | 2018 |
Conclusion
Having your personal information exposed in a data breach can put you at serious risk for identity theft and other types of fraud or abuse. Be vigilant in monitoring your accounts and credit reports for any suspicious activity. Quickly take preventative steps like freezing credit and changing passwords if you are notified your data was compromised. Going forward, make adopting strong security habits across all your accounts a top priority to help minimize your vulnerability to data leaks.