Data leaks and breaches

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A woman with brown hair and a thoughtful expression, resting her chin on her hand, sits at a desk in a dimly lit room.
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What are data leaks and public breaches?

Data leaks and public breaches happen when your personal information is exposed, lost, or shared without proper protection. This can happen through accidents, such as losing a device or accidentally sharing sensitive information, through media reporting, where a website publishes inaccurate or misleading information about you, or through public breaches, where a company, app or service you use is hacked and your data is exposed.

Get help with data leaks and public breaches now

Read our step-by-step guides to learn about, recover from, and contain accidents, media reporting, and public breaches.

  • Lost Device Icon

    Lost device

    You have lost a device and are trying to find it or limit the damage of lost information.

    Read more
  • Accidental Information Share Icon

    Accidental information share

    You have accidentally shared sensitive or confidential information online.

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  • Online Reporting Issue Icon

    Online reporting issue

    A website has published fake or inaccurate information about you.

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  • Data Breach Icon

    Data breach

    A company, app, online account or service you use has been hacked and your data has been impacted.

    Read more
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    I'm not sure what's happened, but something isn't right

    Our free helpline helps individuals and sole traders understand, contain, and recover from cyber attacks and incidents.

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A woman wearing a yellow polka dot shirt and a headset sitting at a desk and looking at her laptop in a modern office.

Speak to an expert

Some cybercrime cases require a helping hand or further investigation. If you have spoken to our chatbot, read our guides, and still need more help with your issue, our chatbot can connect you to a real cybersecurity expert.

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Contact support organisations

*Please note our volunteer helpline service is currently only available if you live in the UK or USA. We aim to get back to your request within 3 days.

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If you are located in the United States, we have specific guides tailored to your region

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