Data breaches have been on the rise for a while now and they are not slowing down. Companies and organizations of all sizes are affected by them, and they are costing businesses millions of dollars in lost revenue. For individuals, a breach can be disastrous, with criminals using your personal information to commit identity theft, credit card fraud and more.

A data leak happens when sensitive information is exposed to unauthorized parties, such as hackers or employees. This can be caused by human error or by misconfigured systems, and it can expose anything from trade secrets to personally identifiable information (PII).

In the past few years alone, we have seen massive breaches affecting millions of people across all industries. Some of the more prominent ones include the Equifax, Target and Yahoo hacks. These are the most notable examples, but they are far from the only ones.

Many people still associate these companies with the hack itself, and it is a huge negative mark on their reputation and financial bottom line. For government organizations, it can mean exposing confidential information about military operations, political dealings or details on essential national infrastructure to foreign parties.

Fortunately, not every cyberattack results in a data leak. However, there are many reasons why an organization might be prone to one: Disgruntled employees, insider threats or malicious software attacks are common culprits. These can be motivated by financial gain, commercially valuable information or a desire for revenge.