How to Prevent a Data Breach: A Practical Playbook
Security Boulevard, Friday, June 12th, 2026
Most data breaches stem from a few preventable causes, so consistent fundamentals matter more than advanced tools.
Authored by Deepak Gupta of LoginRadius, this playbook argues that the large majority of breaches come from a small set of preventable causes: stolen or weak credentials, misconfigured systems, unpatched vulnerabilities, and people getting tricked.
Around 80% of breaches involve compromised credentials, while most of the rest trace back to a missed misconfiguration, an unapplied patch, or a clicked phishing email.
The critical first step is maintaining an inventory of data, systems, and internet-facing assets, since you cannot protect what you do not know exists. Breach prevention is mostly about doing a manageable set of things consistently rather than buying the most advanced security tools.