Data Leaks and Theft: How Do They Happen and How to Prevent Them?
Data theft is a criminal practice that consists of illegally obtaining personal or corporate information, which leads to serious legal and financial consequences. Understand the preventive measures and the rights that affect.
Data theft, system intrusion, data leakage, information thef. These are terms that are no longer limited to the world of technology and are now part of the daily lives of companies, people and public institutions.
This is not only the result of the growing interest of hackers and people with bad intentions, but also of the legislation itself. The LGPD places the responsibility of the data owner on the correct handling of them, making it more difficult to commit criminal acts and disclose the data of other people under the threat of significant fines.
Of course, the first step to protection is to know the problem. That is why we have prepared this article, explaining the concept of data leakage and theft, the main forms of intrusion, the precautions to take when developing a protection strategy, and practical tips to apply in everyday life and avoid the actions of intruders.
Data theft cases often involve complex methods and can have international implications. For incidents involving the crossing of borders, the involvement of an international extradition lawyer guarantees expert resolution of legal complexities and compliance with global norms.
What is a data leakage? And what about data theft?
The first step to understanding the concepts of data leakage and theft is to understand what data is and where it is located. Data is information stored somewhere that can be interpreted for a specific purpose.
Names, phone numbers and documents, addresses, various personal information... All this information, categorized, is very valuable to anyone who wants to use it. Typically, this data is contained in a database in a system that can range from a simple contact list or email inbox to more complex and sophisticated software.
Data theft occurs with access to these databases, so that the attacker can keep them for himself, using them directly, selling them or simply leaking them. Leakage, in turn, consists in this data becoming publicly available or being sold so that different agents can use them in an inappropriate and unauthorized way without special control.
What are the main types of invasion?
The world of intrusions and data theft is constantly improving to bypass existing security barriers. However, there are some types of invasion that are particularly well known.
Knowing what they are is essential to identify any information extraction technique that is applied to you to prevent the worst. Among the main methods of invasion, the following stand out:
Ransomware
Ransomware is an intrusion technique that is carried out by installing software that “steals” important data from your computer or system. This could be, for example, a certain part or the entire hard drive.
In this scenario, your data is usually encrypted, which can only be accessed with a password. In general, the “hijackers” themselves get in touch and offer to free the system by paying them a ransom.
Spyware and the famous keylogger
As the name suggests, spyware is spyware. It can take screenshots, record entire sections of use, and even access devices on your computer, such as the webcam or microphone, recording interactions that occur near them. In an era where smartphones accompany people to all important meetings and debates, there is a huge potential for problems.
A keylogger, in turn, is a special type of spyware capable of recording all the commands executed by your keyboard and mouse, including the entry of access accounts and their corresponding passwords. This makes it quite dangerous, as it can be almost unnoticeable in terms of consuming device resources. See also: Digital Criminal Law: Actions against Cybercrime
Attention to the Different Means of Data Leakage
When we think of data leakage, we usually imagine large, complex corporate systems and databases. However, the truth is that there are many ways to gain access to this type of valuable information, such as providing important information over the phone or opening a link via WhatsApp or email, for example.
It is estimated that more than half of intrusions are initiated by some form of social engineering. Social engineering in the world of hacking consists of using human relationships and knowledge of people's perceptions to gain a certain advantage or a certain behavior. It is important to have guidelines to avoid actions that contribute to this information seeking.
