The terms security breach and data breach are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re two different things. It’s usually a question of order. A security breach happens first. A data breach may follow. One exception: A company may negligently expose data. That’s considered a data breach.
A security breach occurs when an unauthorized party bypasses security measures to reach protected areas of a system. A security breach can put the intruder within reach of valuable information — company accounts, intellectual property, the personal information of customers that might include names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and credit card information.
If a cybercriminal steals confidential information, a data breach has occurred. Personally identifiable information is often sold on the dark web and can be used to commit crimes such as identity theft.
