Cybersecurity is protecting servers, cellphones, networks, data, computers, and electronic systems against cyberattacks. It can be also referred to as electronic information security or information technology security. Cybersecurity includes operational security, information security, end-user education, network security, disaster recovery, and business continuity, and application security. Ensuring 100% confidentiality of the information and protecting all types of data stored on a server and different devices is of utmost importance, as a breach or leak can lead to catastrophic consequences and facilitate crimes. Without it, anyone or entity will easily fall victim to cybercriminals. The world witnessed many major cybersecurity breaches and leaks in the past couple of years that took many businesses and entities by surprise. Read on to learn what history can teach us about the importance of cybersecurity.
Sony Pictures & Sony PS Network Cyberattacks
In 2011, Sony Pictures and Sony PS network suffered from several cyberattacks that resulted in giving out 77M users data! The leaked data included passwords, emails, names. And other information. The situation was out of control to the point that Sony had a 23-day outage! Moreover, Sony’s streaming server and Sony online entertainment had to close for one month. These attacks cost Sony a $400,000 fine and gave out free digital goods to compensate the affected customers. That was not it, as another cyberattack was launched by LulzSec (hackers group), and they gave out the credit card details and names of many Sony Pictures customers after they encrypted the data on their website. LulzSec announced that it was just a matter of taking this data, as Sony had more than 1,000,000 passwords stored in plaintext.
Cyberattacks Against the Singaporean Government
A high-profile group of hackers called Anonymous started multiple cyberattacks against the Singaporean government in 2013. They claimed that one of their reasons behind these attacks was the unnecessary Singaporean web censorship regulations, especially the ones applied to new outlets. However, one of their representatives who call himself (The Messiah) was captured and charged in court. This group was famous for initiating cyberattacks against big organizations and governments!
Cyberattacks Against First American
Protecting data and confidential information against hackers is not just for big organizations. Even small businesses have to defend and protect their devices and systems, as you read more here, you will see that even small businesses are not immune to hackers. Hackers strive and look for data on all servers and systems, whether it is a personal account or a big business server. A 900M breach size was launched against First American insurance company, exposing sensitive data and bank account statements of 900 million clients. This information would have facilitated money and identity stealing from these clients. However, till now, it is not confirmed if the data was accessed illicitly.
Cyberattacks Against Target & Home Depot
In 2013, Target customers’ debit and credit card data was on Rescator, which is a cybercrime shop in Ukraine. This incident indicated that something went really wrong. What happened was, in 2013’s Thanksgiving break, the malware was sent to the sale system of Target, and after one year, the shoppers’ cards data was on Rescator! However, the data belonged to shoppers of Home Depot. After that, 56M customers’ data that include PIN numbers, names, and card numbers, were leaked.
Yahoo! Major Breach
That was most probably the biggest data breach in history! In 2014, 500M Yahoo! Users’ data was breached. The data included passwords, names, and all credentials. The shocking news was in 2013, another breach took place, compromising three billion Yahoo! Users! However, the company did not report the incident till 2016!! Because of that, Yahoo! was fined $35 million. It didn’t stop here, as many lawsuits were filed, and Yahoo’s sale price went down by $350 million.
The Infamous Wikileaks
Almost everyone around the world has heard about this one, as it was on every news station around the world. Around 2015 and 2016, the DNC (Democratic National Committee) emails were hacked by a Russian cyberespionage group called Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear. That was a massive data breach, and Wikileaks were given the stolen emails, and the documents were published.
Recent history is full of massive data breaches and cyberattacks, initiated by infamous hackers and espionage groups. These attacks cost many governments and big organizations a lot more than money. Some of these incidents include the 2015-2016 DNC data breach, Yahoo massive data leak, cyberattacks launched against Home Depot and Target, First American breach, the Singaporean government data breach, and the attacks launched against Sony in 2011. However, your personal account isn’t immune to breaches and lurking hackers, so you better download an antivirus if you don’t have one already!