Day: September 22, 2025

When a company experiences a data breach, it can cause long-term damage to its reputation and trust with customers. It also can lead to financial losses, fines and legal costs. There are a variety of reasons why data breaches happen, including phishing attacks by hackers who steal information to profit or hurt businesses, unencrypted devices that get lost or stolen, and human error. Prevention efforts can reduce the risk of a data breach, but they cannot eliminate it.

In the most serious cases, a data breach can expose confidential personal information (PII). This includes names, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. PII can be used to commit identity theft, fraud and other crimes.

Identify the source and scope of the data breach. This is a critical first step to contain the breach and investigate its cause. It may involve hiring forensics experts to capture forensic images of affected machines, collect and analyze evidence and provide remediation recommendations.

It’s also important to review a breach investigation plan template to ensure you have everything documented. This will include recording the date and time when you identified the breach, what data was exposed and how it was discovered. It should also cover who had access to the breached information, how it was accessed and whether those individuals still have access after the incident. Also, you’ll want to look at your network segmentation, determine who has access now and change their privileges if necessary.

Corporate earnings are the profits earned by a publicly traded company over a specific period, typically a quarter. These figures are reported by companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are one of the most important data points for investors to review when making decisions about their portfolios.

The most widely cited metric for corporate earnings is earnings per share, or EPS. This figure is calculated by dividing net income by the number of shares outstanding. Higher EPS is generally seen as a positive, as it suggests that a company is generating more value for each share of its stock.

Besides providing insights into individual company performance, earnings reports can also reveal macroeconomic trends. For example, if a number of companies are reporting falling EPS, this may indicate that a wave of layoffs is on the way. On the other hand, rising EPS could be a sign of a healthy economy, as more people are buying goods and services.

Investors and traders tend to focus on different aspects of earnings reports, depending on their investing strategies. For example, long-term investors may place more importance on metrics that reveal a company’s stability and growth potential, such as revenue trends and EPS. On the other hand, short-term traders may be more interested in a company’s ability to meet or beat EPS estimates. In addition, a company’s earnings report may include other noteworthy information, such as dividend news or changes in management.