Sometimes the terms security breach and data breach are used interchangeably, but they are two different things. This is usually a system issue. First there is the security breach. A data breach may follow. One exception: The company may disclose the data by negligence. This is a data breach.
A security breach occurs when an unauthorized party bypasses security measures to gain access to protected areas of the system. The security breach can allow a hacker to access valuable information - company accounts, intellectual property, and personal information that may include customer names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and credit card information.
If a cybercriminal steals confidential information, that means a data breach. Personally identifiable information is often sold on the dark web and can be used to commit crimes like identity theft.
Yahoo security breach
The Yahoo security breach began with a phishing email sent in early 2014. A Yahoo employee clicked on a link, allowing the hacker to access the company's network. In total, three Yahoo breaches gave cyber criminals access to 3 billion user accounts. Yahoo announced the first breach in 2016.
The exposed user account information included poorly coded names, birthdays, phone numbers, security questions, and passwords. Remember that some people use the same password (a dangerous app) across multiple accounts. This could allow cyber criminals to gain access to other accounts. Some of the information that was reportedly stolen was sold on the dark web
