Hackers are unauthorized users who break into computer systems in order to steal, change or destroy information. These unauthorized hackers with their clever tactics and detailed technical knowledge break into user’s computer systems in order to steal, change or destroy information, often by installing dangerous malware without your knowledge or consent.
- Adobe’s IT Infrastructure hack of 2013
In October of 2013, Adobe confirmed that the IT infrastructure of the company had suffered a massive hack attack. Personal information of 2.9 million accounts was stolen including logins, passwords, names, credit card numbers and expiration dates. Another file discovered on the internet later brought the number of accounts affected by the attack to 150 million accounts. In fact, hackers not only stole customer information but also stole product data and codes.
2. Sony’s PlayStation Network issue
In April 2011, Sony’s PlayStation Network was hacked. The company that held the personal data of 77 million users was leaked. This even included the banking information of tens of thousands of people. In order to compensate for the loss of data, Sony paid 15 million dollars in compensation plus a few million dollars in legal fees in addition to having to refund the people whose bank accounts had been illegally used. Sony’s data was vulnerable in the first place due to it being unencrypted.
3. Credit Cards hacked in South Korea
Back in January 2014, the country of South Korea had a crisis on their hands. They had learned that 100 million credits and their data had been stolen. The biggest blow of this perhaps was the fact that the credit cards along with the data were stolen over a time period of several years. It was later found that the person behind the theft was an employee of the Korea Credit Bureau, a South Korean credit solvency company.
4. Target’s Banking Data Hack
In December 2013, Target, one of the United States’ biggest retail chains, was the victim of a large scale cyber attack. Data from 110 million customers was hijacked between November 27 and December 15 including banking data of 40 million customers and personal data including the names, postal addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of these customers. Ultimately it was found by several American security services that the thefts were traced back to a hacker in Eastern Europe.
5. Marriot Hotels and the Privacy Hack
Information from up to 500 million guests at the Marriott-owned Starwood hotel group has been compromised, including banking data. The rift had been open since 2014 and was first spotted in September 2018. The information that was compromised includes payment information, names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and passport numbers. Due to this massive breach, the Marriot Hotels group faced a fine of $123 million to UK authorities.
6. Yahoo’s 2014 Mishap
In 2014, Yahoo announced that a massive cyber attack had occurred, that affected 500 million user accounts. This constitutes the largest massive hacking of individual data directed against a single company. The hacked information included sensitive personal information such as the names, dates of birth, telephone numbers and passwords of users of the platform.
7. Russian Hackers 1.2 billion Passwords Theft
Saving perhaps the most devastating hacker attack for last, in August 2014, the IT company Hold Securities reported that Russian hackers had stolen 1.2 billion logins and passwords on 420,000 websites around the world. They also noted that this breach could have allowed the group CyberVor to access 500 million passwords to email ID accounts all over the world. However, the consequences were not as severe as the attack. The FBI confirmed that the information has only been used in a large spam campaign on social networks, so far.
