Data Breach Caused by Joe's Actions
Question
Joe, a salesman, was assigned to a new project that requires him to travel to a client site.
While waiting for a flight, Joe, decides to connect to the airport wireless network without connecting to a VPN, and the sends confidential emails to fellow colleagues.
A few days later, the company experiences a data breach.
Upon investigation, the company learns Joe's emails were intercepted.
Which of the following MOST likely caused the data breach?
Answers
Explanations
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.A.
The most likely cause of the data breach in the scenario described is (A) Policy violation.
Joe violated company policy by sending confidential emails without using a VPN to encrypt his communication. By connecting to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network, Joe exposed himself and the company's sensitive information to potential attackers. This is a common mistake made by many individuals who are unaware of the risks associated with using unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.
In addition, Joe's behavior may have been influenced by (B) Social engineering, as an attacker may have used various tactics to trick him into believing that it was safe to use the public Wi-Fi without a VPN. For instance, the attacker could have created a fake Wi-Fi hotspot that mimicked the airport's legitimate network, which is known as a "man-in-the-middle" attack. The attacker could have also used phishing techniques to trick Joe into disclosing his email credentials, which would enable them to intercept his emails.
While the scenario does not explicitly mention any malicious intent on Joe's part, it is possible that he could be classified as an (C) Insider threat, which refers to employees who intentionally or unintentionally compromise the security of their organization. In this case, Joe's actions were careless and could have potentially led to a data breach.
Lastly, (D) Zero-day attack is an unlikely cause in this scenario. A zero-day attack is a type of cyberattack that exploits a vulnerability in software or hardware that is unknown to the vendor or the public. While such attacks are common, they typically require a high level of sophistication and resources to carry out, and it is unlikely that a zero-day attack would be used in this situation.
Overall, the most likely cause of the data breach is Joe's policy violation, which demonstrates the importance of following security policies and using secure communication methods, such as VPNs, when accessing sensitive information over public networks.
