Definition: Breach

Category: Data protection

A breach occurs when microdata access procedures and/or rules are broken, affecting the confidentiality of respondent information. A breach can be defined as "major" or "minor" and "deliberate" or "accidental". A major breach is defined as an incident where information that has a high risk of disclosure has been removed from the secure microdata access environment, or where there has been an attempt to remove such information. A major breach can also occur when certain microdata access processes and procedures are not followed correctly. A minor breach is defined as an incident where information that has a low risk of disclosure has been removed from the secure microdata access environment, or where there has been an attempt to remove such information. A minor breach can also occur when certain microdata access processes and procedures are not followed correctly. A deliberate breach is defined as the researcher knowingly misusing their microdata access and/or intentionally breaking the confidentiality rules. An accidental breach is defined as unintentionally failing to apply particular confidentiality rules and/or failing to follow microdata access procedures. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon//coded_files/NZ_microdata-output-access-guide-2013.pdf