Data near misses

 “Near misses” in data security 

 

What is a “near miss”? 

A “near miss” is a term used to describe an incident where a data breach could have occurred however no data was leaked. “Near miss” incidents have the capability to become serious data breaches. However, due to timely intervention or luck, they result in no data being breached. 

 

Why do “near misses” happen? 

“Near misses” can occur through various ways. Most incidents are a result of human error and improper data handling by staff. Some examples could include: 

• A member of staff leaving confidential paper documents behind however being able to retrieve them afterwards. 
• An intervention in a phishing attack. 
• Members of staff leaving sensitive information on their desks without it being read by an unauthorised individual. 

All of these are examples of potential data incidents that were stopped before any data was breached. 

 

What should happen? 

It is important for “near misses” to be properly and accurately reported, recorded and reviewed. This is because “near misses” can be used as an opportunity to learn about security risks and weak points in the company’s infrastructure that may have not been identified before. It allows the company to: 

• Identify weaknesses in their security positions. 
• Test the effectiveness of their incident response plan. 
• Increase employee awareness of data protection and threats to sensitive information. 

 

Employee contribution to “near misses” 

Members of staff need to be aware of how to spot a “near miss” incident and how to correctly and accurately report it. They should be able to look out for incidents that something almost went wrong and know who to report the incident to. This ensures that “near misses” can be recorded and reviewed to understand potential risks to data security.