Just a decade ago, a data breach incident that compromised billions of data involving people, businesses, and companies, is a hot topic in the news. But now, incidents like this have become too common. It has been recorded that over 3 billion people have confirmed that their data have been stolen because of a data breach and the smallest incident has a record of 100 million people involved as a victim.
Data breach affects millions of users. In this article, we will be sharing with you the most terrifying cases of data breaches ever recorded in history. This is a part of our cybersecurity program in spreading knowledge and awareness.
Sina Weibo 2020
The Sina Weibo incident happened in March 2020, with over 500 million user accounts compromised.
This application is China’s version of Twitter. When the hackers penetrated their system it resulted in the theft of user’s site names, real names, gender, phone numbers, and locations of over 170 million users. The information was then posted for sale on dark websites. Passwords, however, were not included.
The company did admit the incident happened but explained that stolen information was obtained from a matching contacts system.
Following the event, the national security administration and information technology have made sure to be on top of the investigation, re-assuring their clients.
Zynga 2019
The Zynga incident happened in September 2019. Zynga has affected over 200 million user accounts.
It is a game development company that was once a giant in the Facebook application and gaming platform. They are known for creating ‘Farmville’ with a game space of millions of players across the world.
The incident follows a Pakistan Hacker called ‘Gnosticplayers’ who hacked into the company’s database of one of their applications and stole millions of pieces of information.
The company confirmed the incident stating usernames, passwords, and contact details in both Facebook and Zynga accounts were compromised.
Canva 2019
The Canva incident happened in May 2019, where it affected over 100 million user accounts.
Canva is a very popular graphic design website tool. It experienced an attack and exposed the users’ usernames, email, names, and locations.
The company confirmed the incident and stated that hackers were only able to view the data but not steal it. This includes files with payment and credit card details.
Once the company identified the breach, they immediately notified their clients and users to change their passwords. Further action by the company involves encrypting passwords and files.
Dubsmash 2018
The Dubsmash data breach incident happened in December 2018, where there are over 150 million user accounts affected.
Dubsmash is a video messaging service and application-based in New York. When the hackers attacked their system, they were able to steal personal data and information of users such as date of birth, email, username, and passwords. It was then posted for sale on the dark web market called ‘Dream Market’.
The company confirmed the incident and advised their clients to change their passwords.
Marriott International 2014-2018
The Marriott International data breach incident happened from 2014 to 2018. It was recorded to have affected 500 million customers in a four year time.
The data breach started on a company called Starwoods. The group of attackers have hidden in the system and stayed there when Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016. The data breach was brought to light in 2018.
The hackers were able to steal customer information such as passport details, travel itineraries, and financial details.
The attack was traced back to a Chinese intelligence group that is trying to spy on US Citizens by looking into their data.
Career Opportunity
What made data breach a very terrifying cybersecurity threat is its nature, high frequency, and technicality of attack. What we have talked about here is just some of the biggest incidents that we should be aware of.
Learn how to protect yourself by learning cybersecurity as a career and profession here at RCyberSolutions. Our program covers courses and certifications through an online learning platform. Visit our website for more information.
