Steven Andiloro is the owner of Professional Security Solutions, a security company in North Carolina servicing customers nationwide!

Tag: Online Hack

Steven Andiloro- Two More of the Worst Online Hacks in History

Two More of the Worst Online Hacks in History

 

As a continuation of last month’s blog, I took a look at some more detrimental online hacks that have rocked our nation. Although preventive cyber security measures have increased, so have the capabilities of hackers. A lot of our personal information is exposed when we utilize online resources. Many of us know someone who has been affected by cyber attacks and may even know people involved in some of these larger scale incidents. Here are a few more noteworthy security breaches to hopefully remind you to stay safe online.

 

Target:

In 2014, retail mogul, Target, faced one of the worst data hacks our country has seen. The attack led to 70 million names, mailing addresses, emails, and phone numbers being stolen. Additionally, 40 million credit and debit card number, expiration dates, and CV codes were obtained by the hackers. The unique scenario of the hack made it a national news story. The breach in security took place over a three-week time period, which is why so many accounts were infiltrated. Many customers lost a great deal of trust in the company, and stocks did take a hit for a few months. From a security standpoint, Target had all of the right preventative measures in place. Yet, they neglected to react to the warnings they were provided. Many lawsuits filed against the company due to damages were dropped once damages were returned to customers. After discovering the breach, Target offered a year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to U.S. based customers.  A few customers received settlement funds from Target and the security measures have increased drastically. I’d be willing to bet that they won’t be ignoring any more warning signs in the future.

 

Sony Pictures

Those working in the entertainment industry already have a significant amount of their dirty laundry aired. You can imagine their emotions when they found out that Sony Pictures had fallen victim to a cyber attack. The attack was orchestrated by a North Korean based group self-titled “Guardians of Peace.” The group claimed their motive was the release of the film “The Interview,” a comedy portraying an assassination attempt on Kim Jong-Un. The breach consisted of the group receiving access to Sony employee’s personal information, emails within the company, and copies of then-unreleased films. As a result of the attack, Sony has heightened their cyber security efforts including the use of new software to house all company information.

Steven Andiloro Two of the Worst Online Hacks in History

Two of the Worst Online Hacks in History

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we cannot escape technology. Technology has infested our everyday lives. And because of that technology, we have put a large amount of our personal information out in the open, without us fully realizing it. From online purchases to banking, our credit card and social security numbers, dates of birth and just about everything else are all out in the open, waiting to be taken. And unfortunately, malicious hackers have taken advantage. There have been dozens of online hacks on companies which have put millions of users’ information at risk before, but there are two in particular that I feel are exceptionally bad.

 

Playstation Network Outage

Video games are a multibillion dollar industry, with billions playing around the world. And Playstation, one of the world’s most popular gaming consoles, has a very popular online gaming community called the Playstation Network. In this community, subscribers can play video games and speak with each other and purchase video games or movies through the online store, which requires a credit card. And in 2011, hackers breached the Playstation Network, bringing the platform to its knees. The attack resulted in the access of 77 million subscribers’ personal information by hackers. Sony, the parent company of Playstation, was forced to shut down the service for a total of 23 days. In that time, they restructured the infrastructure and made the network safe to use again. In response, Sony executives publicly apologized during a press conference by bowing their heads in shame. At the time, it was one of the worst online hacks in history.

 

Yahoo! Account Breach

Speaking of the worst security breaches in history, Yahoo! has the unfortunate pleasure of laying claim to this record. An incredibly recent event, Yahoo!, the popular tech company, admitted to the breach of over 1 billion users’ accounts. What made the case so extraordinary was the fact that Yahoo! had been attacked twice within two years. The first hack occurred in 2013, which compromised the initial 1 billion accounts; the second hack took place a year later, adding an additional 500 million breached accounts. It is by far the worst data breach of any company on record. What makes matters worse is that Yahoo! only recently disclosed the security attack, in September of 2016. Although the news made headlines, it did not necessarily damage the company’s image.

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