Cyber Security by Deepayan Chanda MACS Snr CP Principal Cybersecurity Architect Lab

^Highlights

• There are many data breaches that we hear every single day, and at the end there is an "individual" who is impacted by it in many of those cases. Read more to understand what to do next. 

There are many data breaches that we hear every single day, and at the end there is an "individual" who is impacted by it in many of those cases. There are many services that exist to help individuals to find whether or not their information was part of a data breach. But it's always a challenge for individuals in those situations to decide what to do, below is a list of activities I believe one can look at in case they find their data was compromised.

 
✏️ Contact your "breached" service provider as a first step : This is to make sure that you are aware of the current situation, what is the extent of damage that you are exposed to as an individual, and what is the service provider is going to do about it as a next step to mitigate the current crisis.
 
✏️ Change the passwords, try to use stronger passwords, there are many concepts to follow, but I feel it should just be an easy to remember "phrase" (i repeat, phrase) with special characters as added complexity, but at the same time it's hard to guess by others.
 
✏️ Identify what data was leaked, this is important as to decide on the next steps, e.g. If only credit card data is stolen, then just replace the card, as compared to if more sensitive personal data is lost like medical records or passport details then the process could be not as simple as getting a new credit card.
 
✏️ It might also be a good idea to check with the credit bureau and alert them to put a check on your file to detect any malicious activity.
 
✏️ Monitor your bank accounts for any malicious activities.
 
✏️ In some countries Data Protection Laws will allow you to file for a Data Breach Compensation, do check with your local country specific Privacy Lawyers to know more about this and how you can avail these laws. Though it may not reduce the full impact of the individual's Identity data theft, but it certainly covers some of the legal aspects. E.g. You may have the right (depending on the country you are in) to go to the court and claim compensation for the damages that resulted from data breach, it could be material or emotional damages.