Theft of data

Data theft is a defined subset of identity theft—in particular, the large-scale theft of customer records from businesses and other organizations. These stolen records are then used to perpetrate identity fraud upon the unsuspecting customers whose data was stolen.

The impact of data theft In late 2014, hackers stole information linked to 500 million Yahoo users but the cyber crime was not revealed till recently. A hacker offered information for sale on the Data Theft Information for Tax Professionals | Internal Apr 22, 2020 Theft of Electronic Data | Office of the Inspector General

When the Data Thief is a Company | Digital Guardian

Data theft is the act of stealing virtual information with an intent to compromise someone’s privacy or to obtain confidential information. Data theft could be with respect to stealing or hacking passwords, banking information, credit card information, personal information of users, information of importance to a corporate business, hacking into government databases, stealing photographs and About 3.5 billion people saw their personal data stolen in the top two of 15 biggest breaches of this century alone. The smallest incident on this list involved the data of a mere 134 million people. Data theft has increased in recent years largely because of the growing number of people and employees with access to data. Business databases, desktops, handheld devices, phones, flash drives and cameras can all be used by thieves to steal data.

A data breach at a government agency can, for example, put top secret information in the hands of an enemy state. A breach at a corporation can put proprietary data in the hands of a competitor. A breach at a school could put students’ PII in the hands of criminals who could commit identity theft.

What is data theft? - Source Defence Data theft has increased in recent years largely because of the growing number of people and employees with access to data. Business databases, desktops, handheld devices, phones, flash drives and cameras can all be used by thieves to steal data.