Data leak
Exposure of sensitive information with no attack involved: a misconfigured database, an overshared file, an email to the wrong recipient.
Full definition
A data leak is the exposure of sensitive information caused by carelessness or misconfiguration, with no attack involved: a database open to the internet, a repository with embedded keys, a document shared with public permissions, or an email sent to the wrong recipient.
It differs from a breach in its origin: in a breach someone broke in to steal; in a leak the door was left open. For the affected party the result is identical, and attackers permanently scan the internet looking precisely for those doors: a leak discovered by an adversary becomes a breach within hours.
Prevention is mostly operational discipline: reviewing configurations and permissions, classifying information, managing secrets in code, and conscious sharing habits, because most leaks are born from a routine human decision.
Related terms
Data breach
An incident where protected information is accessed, stolen or exposed without authorization. Its credentials fuel the next attacks.
Data exfiltration
Unauthorized transfer of information from the victim's systems to the attacker. It is the end goal of most intrusions.
Shadow IT
Tools and services employees use without IT approval. Every invisible account is risk that nobody is watching.
From definition to data: measure your company's human risk
Fensivo detects leaked credentials, simulates real attacks and validates with retests that behavior changed.