{"id":37968,"date":"2025-11-16T16:12:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T16:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fidelissecurity.com\/?post_type=glossary&p=37968"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:05:19","slug":"data-exfiltration","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/fidelissecurity.com\/es\/glossary\/data-exfiltration\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Exfiltration"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Data Exfiltration Defined for Security Teams<\/h2> <\/div>\n

Data exfiltration refers to the unauthorized transfer of sensitive data from an organization\u2019s network. This sophisticated threat can be used for various malicious purposes, including intellectual property theft, financial gain, and espionage. Attackers target sensitive data such as customer records, employee information, or trade secrets, and transfer it out of the secure environment without detection. The consequences of data exfiltration can be severe, impacting an organization\u2019s operations, reputation, and financial stability.<\/p><\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What Data Exfiltration Is and What It Is Not<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What Data Exfiltration Is<\/th>What Data Exfiltration Is Not<\/th>\t\t\t\t<\/tr>\n\t\t\t<\/thead>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Data exfiltration specifically denotes the unauthorized transfer of data out of a secured environment.<\/td>It is not just any unauthorized access to data; that broader event is called a data breach<\/a>, which may or may not involve exfiltration.<\/td><\/tr>
It involves an active process of stealing or exporting data beyond the organization\u2019s control, often with malicious intent.<\/td>It is not data leakage<\/b>, which usually refers to unintentional exposure or accidental loss of data, such as misconfigured cloud storage.<\/td><\/tr>
Data exfiltration means sensitive data is deliberately copied or transferred to an external or unauthorized location.<\/td>It is not data loss<\/b> caused by deletion or corruption, which does not involve data being stolen or transferred elsewhere.<\/td><\/tr>
It is a covert and intentional act aimed at stealing valuable information like intellectual property, PII, or trade secrets.<\/td>It should not be confused with mere unauthorized viewing or access without data being moved outside the secure environment.<\/td>\t\t\t\t<\/tr>\n\t\t\t<\/tbody>\n\t\t<\/table>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Data exfiltration is also known by several synonymous or closely related terms, including:<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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