data breach

Meaning

A data breach is an incident where sensitive, protected, or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, or stolen by an unauthorized individual. This term is highly formal and is standard in legal, corporate, and cybersecurity contexts. It highlights a failure in security protocols and often carries a serious, urgent tone.

Examples

• Following the massive data breach, the company advised all users to change their passwords immediately.

  Following the massive data breach, the company advised all users to change their passwords immediately.

• The credit card company faces severe legal penalties for failing to report the data breach in a timely manner.

  The credit card company faces severe legal penalties for failing to report the data breach in a timely manner.

• Cybersecurity experts are investigating how hackers managed to bypass encryption during the data breach.

  Cybersecurity experts are investigating how hackers managed to bypass encryption during the data breach.

• A recent data breach exposed the personal information of over five million registered customers.

  A recent data breach exposed the personal information of over five million registered customers.

• Companies must invest in robust security infrastructure to protect themselves against a potential data breach.

  Companies must invest in robust security infrastructure to protect themselves against a potential data breach.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ The hackers made a data break in our servers.

  ✓ The hackers caused a data breach in our servers.

  The correct term is 'data breach,' not 'data break.' Additionally, breaches are 'caused' or 'suffered,' not 'made.'

• ✗ Our company had a data breachment last night.

  ✓ Our company suffered a data breach last night.

  'Breachment' is not a standard English word. The correct noun form is simply 'breach.'

Related Expressions

Practice

• The company's stock price plummeted after news of the massive ___ was leaked to the press.

  💡 An unauthorized access or theft of sensitive digital information.

  Show answer

  data breach

• To prevent a future ___, we are upgrading our firewall and implementing two-factor authentication.

  💡 A security incident where confidential data is exposed.

  Show answer

  data breach