Five Cyber Attacks that Rocked the World

We live in a digital era where information is at our fingertips. The internet has come in handy for most of us in conducting businesses, socializing, and even learning. Despite its upside, cyber-attacks seem to be on the rise, causing irreparable damage to both individuals and organizations. In this article, we will look at Five Cyber Attacks that Rocked the World.

The Equifax data breach

In 2017, Equifax, one of America’s largest credit reporting agencies, was hacked, whereby attackers stole sensitive data covering about 143 million people. The information stolen included social security numbers, birth dates, and even driver’s license numbers. Exposed information left the affected individuals vulnerable to fraud and identity thefts. Equifax offered free credit monitoring, but many people were skeptical about their effectiveness.

The WannaCry ransomware

In May 2017, a WannaCry ransomware spread like wildfire across the world, locking individuals’ and organizations’ computers. It demanded payment for the decryption of files, causing organizations such as Renault-Nissan to suspend manufacturing processes and NHS in the UK to cancel thousands of appointments. Though analysis showed that the attack targeted older Windows operating systems, experts warned of a possible occurrence if users did not update patches.

The Sony Pictures cyber attack

The 2014 Sony Pictures cyber-attack ranks as one of the most devastating cyber-attacks in history. Firstly, it compromised Sony Pictures and later made its way into the mainstream, where Sony had to cancel the premiere of their movie ‘The Interview,’ a satire film about North Korea. It was later found that North Korea took responsibility for the attack, unhappy by the subject of the film. Before bringing down the Sony studio, the attackers released confidential documents, embarrassing and sensitive emails, and people’s private information.

The Yahoo data breach

In 2016, Yahoo confirmed a massive data breach that involved over one billion user accounts. The attackers managed to gain access to client names, email information, telephone numbers, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers parameters, and backup email addresses. The repercussions of the hack saw the sabotage of the Verizon-Yahoo merger and spiralled consumer confidence in Yahoo products and services. Yahoo was the most used email provider in the world.

The Target data breach

In 2013, Target fell victim to a data breach that included hackers compromising 70 million people’s payment card data, personal information, and banking information. The hackers used a spear-phishing technique to target employees of the point of sale systems’ third-party retailers. The nature and breadth of the attack caught consumers completely off guard, leaving them shocked and vulnerable.

Conclusion

The cyber-attacks mentioned above have one thing in common: The pain that they inflicted on innocent consumers. Most victims never envisioned that targeted companies/retailers could expose their confidential information to intruders. Cases like Yahoo were eve particularly cumbersome since individuals could not do much except change their passwords and pray that they had not left information exposed elsewhere on the internet. You can prevent such attacks by updating regularly, never sharing personal information, and reporting suspicious emails or activities.