Things To Do If You Are A Victim Of Data Breach

In this high tech world, data is equal to cash. No matter whether it is a small start-up or a company making millions, billions all businesses are the victims of data breaches. These attacks result in losses of millions of private records and information which can cost millions and it also affects the image of the company. A data breach is the intentional or unintentional release of secure or private/confidential information to an untrusted environment where anyone can access those private data and which is no more a ‘private’.

By somehow your personal data was compromised in a data breach then what? Today we will discuss things you can do if you are a victim of a data breach.

1) Determine what was stolen

You need to identify exactly what kind of information was stolen or lost in the data breach.

You can classify the severity of your information into three general categories:

a. Least Sensitive: These kind of information is pretty harmless like your name and your address. As they are also easily available on social media or on the internet as they probably can't cause you serious trouble.

b. More Sensitive: These are pretty more sensitive than those names and addresses which include your phone number, email address, security questions, date of birth details, your healthcare report or information. As these leaked information can cause you some trouble as anyone can have direct contact with you via various private means of communication like phone, email, etc.

c. Most Sensitive: These are the most critical information that will directly cause you to trouble both emotionally, financially. These include your payment or credit card information, your bank details, your citizenship details, passport details. This information can directly cause you financial threat as your credit card details are publicly exposed and anyone can perform a transaction on behalf of your card.

2) Change passwords immediately

If you ever noticed a data breach notification, the first thing you need to do is change the password as soon as you can. Create a new and strong password for all the accounts you have.
If you have been using the same password in different accounts, change them as well. Also, most of us use the same user name and passwords for different accounts, so change the passwords of all accounts.

3) Change your Credit Card/Banking Details

If you came to know that your payment details including your credit card information has been breached then you need to contact the bank immediately regarding the data breach concern and change your credit card PIN code, Card Verification Value(CVV) or even you can monitor your financial information.

4) Monitor and Be aware

Now, as your data has been breached, you have taken all the precaution measures as well but still, you need to be aware of the phishing, spam email, messages and be more aware of them and report to the concerned department as soon as possible.

5) Passport was breached? Replace it

There are many ways for cybercriminals can extract money using your passport details so the best thing for you to do is to apply for a new passport. Unfortunately, you'll have to pay for that. But new passports come with new numbers and your old number will become invalid.

You can check if you have an account that has been compromised in a data breach from Have I been pwned? https://haveibeenpwned.com/