Data, identity, and privacy

Data Leak

A data leak refers to the disclosure of confidential information due to human error, software vulnerabilities, hacking or malicious insiders. Examples of unintentional data leaks include sensitive information that is accidentally published on a public website or when an employee mistakenly sends an email with sensitive information to the wrong address. Data leaks can also be intentional, such as when hackers publish stolen data on the internet to embarrass the victim of a data breach, or make money from selling the data.