Potential Threats
Data security threats refer to any unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of sensitive information. Some common data security threats include:
- Hackers and cybercriminals who use various techniques to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, such as phishing, malware, and social engineering.
- Insider threats, where employees or contractors with access to sensitive information intentionally or unintentionally misuse that information.
- Ransomware attacks, where hackers encrypt an organization's data and demand payment in exchange for the decryption key.
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, where attackers flood a network or website with traffic to disrupt normal operations.
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), where attackers use sophisticated techniques to gain access to an organization's network and remain undetected for an extended period of time.
- Social engineering where attackers use psychological manipulation to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information.
- Malware and viruses that can infect computers and servers to steal or destroy sensitive information.
- Physical threats such as theft or damage to equipment can also result in data loss.
- Cloud service breaches where data is stolen from cloud-based storage providers.
- Misconfigured servers can lead to data breaches.
- Human error like losing a laptop or USB drive that contains sensitive information.