What is a data breach?

A data breach refers specifically to an incident where sensitive, protected, or confidential data is accessed and retrieved without authorization, which directly compromises the confidentiality of that information. This means that the breach has not only occurred, but that the data involved is typically sensitive in nature, such as personal information, financial data, or proprietary corporate information.

The crux of a data breach lies in the unauthorized access; it results in exposure, illicit copying, or theft of sensitive information, raising significant concerns regarding the security protocols in place and the potential implications of such exposure.

In contrast, accessing data without permission, while related, does not necessarily imply that the access resulted in the retrieval of information, which is a critical component of defining a breach. A planned data migration operates within the bounds of permission and authorization, thus it cannot be classified as a data breach. Lastly, sharing data with authorized individuals is a normal practice within organizations and does not suggest any breach of security or confidentiality.