Data security is important to any business – especially those that deal with client services. Industries that are required to handle sensitive client information, such as law firms, are especially concerned about data security. After all, any vulnerability could be used against them, and their data would be at risk.

A data breach is an incident where a hacker has a successful infiltration of a company’s data source and manages to extract sensitive information on the company’s clients, internal data, and other highly-confidential or sensitive data. This information is released to an untrusted environment, where others can exploit these pieces of information for various purposes.

In the case of a deliberate attack, it isn’t an instant process as what is commonly believed – hackers use various security vulnerabilities that can involve unsuspecting employees or a weak link in the security measures and tries to exploit them, sometimes repeatedly. Once they managed to expose one opening, they can start attacking the entirety of the company’s network and access the data they are looking for.

Aside from the loss of your company’s integrity, data breach incidents are exponentially costly, especially against small companies. Clients could also file for lawsuits to recover damages from having their information accessed by malicious entities, or even just being made for a spectacle by the unknowing public, even by accident.

The stolen data can be used, in the meantime, for profit. The hacker/s can sell the stolen data to those who are interested in it – like your competition – or use it to blackmail your company or your clients. They can also use it for their own means. Stolen credit card information, for example, can be used to make purchases using your client’s money, costing them with charges that were not made by them.

Data breaches can also be a mistake from the company. There might have been confidential information that was inside a data storage media (like a hard drive or a flash disk) that was thrown away or lost somewhere, and was picked up by someone else. It could have also been sent by mistake outside of company connections by employees or staff.

In any case, once it falls into the wrong hands and is monetized without authorization from the client or the company, it becomes a casualty.

No security is completely infallible towards the possibility of a data breach. Even large and tech-savvy companies such as Facebook, Yahoo!, and Target are, in some ways, vulnerable to data breaches. However, what sets them apart is how they take measures to prevent data breach from happening as much as possible. This infographic will help you secure your data and help prevent them from being stolen. Below graphics has been prepared by team “Law In Order”.