How to protect yourself from data breaches in 2026

What is a data breach?

A data breach is a security incident where unauthorised individuals or groups access and steal sensitive, protected, or confidential data. It’s a bit different to a data leak, which normally involves an accidental file or device being lost and doesn’t involve an active attack.

Think of a data breach like a digital break-in, where hackers force the locks and steal information they aren’t supposed to know. There are numerous tried-and-tested methods to gain access to the sensitive information that millions of us entrust to online services and websites. Hackers can use phishing emails to steal passwords, malware to spy on systems, or brute force attacks to guess login credentials based on previous leaks.

Many data breaches start with a mistake where an employee might send a sensitive file to the wrong email address, someone opens a file laced with malware, or an IT person might accidentally leave a database "open" to the public internet without a password. While you can't shield your data from everything that could go wrong, there are some reliable tricks to make sure you reduce the chance of falling victim to the worst attacks.

How can you protect yourself from a data breach?

Data breaches can lead to devastating results, such as accounts being compromised or bank accounts being accessed.

That’s why it's important to use things like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) apps to create an additional layer of defence for certain accounts.

Hackers also love unpatched software, which is why you should enable automatic updates on your phone, computer, and even smart home devices.

Another useful way to protect your login credentials is to use a password manager. These apps create unique passwords for each site, so if your password has been guessed, it’ll be unique to only that site and no others.

Lastly, a VPN can also be a very useful tool to help prevent your data from being accessed by hackers or other potential bad actors, and is a way you can actively help protect all of your data online. Best of all, many of these service also offer a password manager as part of the subscription, so you'll also benefit from the unguessable passwords — automatically filled-in for you when you want to login — encrypted and backed-up to the cloud.

But which VPN should you use, and what benefits do they offer?

The best VPN to protect from data breaches

A VPN isn’t a magical bullet to help protect from data breaches, but it can be useful when using public WiFi to protect you from certain attacks. For example, Man In The Middle attacks can occur. Without a VPN, hackers can ‘sniff’ the network to see your passwords or bank details as you type them. A VPN encrypts your traffic and makes it look like meaningless scrambled code. But which one should you use?

ExpressVPN is an award-winning VPN with gongs from the likes of Techradar, CNET, and Tom's Guide, with praise for its servers dedicated to fast, reliable streaming from anywhere in the world.

It also comes with ExpressKeys, a password manager that helps store passwords and protect data with zero-knowledge encryption across all your devices – protecting your passwords in case they get compromised.

Monthly prices start from £1.99 a month, and unlock ExpressVPN across up to 14x devices. Once installed, connect to a UK server from ExpressVPN's network of over 3,000 servers across 105 countries.

The service uses proprietary Lightway protocol for enhanced speed and reliability, ensuring smooth streaming of festival performances.

The service works across all your devices - Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, smart TVs and streaming devices like Fire TV Stick. You can even use ExpressVPN's MediaStreamer feature to watch on devices that don't normally support VPNs, such as PlayStation or Xbox.

If you're new to ExpressVPN, you'll enjoy a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to test every aspect of this service — including its ExpressVPN Keys password manager, server locations across the globe, and apps for your favourite devices — risk-free and recover your investment if you're not satisfied with the service.

VPNs are not illegal and are often mandated by companies to improve online security for employees. However, it's your responsibility to ensure that you're using these popular apps for legal use. Always check the terms and conditions of the streaming service.

Benefits of ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is particularly well-suited for streaming as it boasts VPN server locations in 105 countries, providing access to global coverage.

It offers ultra-fast speeds on a 10-Gbps network, essential for high-quality streaming without buffering. With military-grade encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and features like split tunnelling and a kill switch, your online activity stays private. Based in the British Virgin Islands — outside Five Eyes jurisdiction — it avoids mandatory data retention laws, which means that even if the company were collecting data (it's not), law enforcement from the UK and US would be unable to compel ExpressVPN to hand over any information about its subscribers.

ExpressVPN supports a wide range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, and routers. There's no limit on the number of ExpressVPN apps that you can download on your devices, and with a single subscription, you can connect to the VPN on 10x gadgets at once.

It also has a dedicated team that optimises the service for major streaming platforms. Round-the-clock customer support is available if you encounter any issues during race weekend.

ExpressVPN isn't the cheapest VPN. However, its 30-day money-back guarantee makes it a risk-free choice for privacy-conscious users and frequent streamers. It should also give new customers the confidence to subscribe to one of its longer contracts, which unlock the biggest discounts.