Everything around us today is centered on the use of smart devices and the network. The majority of our activities, work, and business involve the use of computers, smart devices, and the internet.
You might have heard in the news that cyber warfare has reached the headlines. These attacks are done by a group of illegal hackers or alleged government agencies for fun, espionage, and information theft.
The internet has become the new battlefield. It is said that the future of war would be through cyberspace.
To give us a better understanding of how devastating a cyber incident or attack be. Here are the top 10 worst hacking incidents in history.
The Morris Worm
The Morris Worm was created by Robert Tappan Morris in 1988. This cybersecurity incident of using the computer worm was the first of its kind. Morris was a student at the University of USA when he created the virus and he claimed that the virus was to measure the vastness of the cyber world.
Unfortunately, when the worm program encountered an error it transformed into a computer virus with an ability to duplicate, replicate, and infect other devices in a very uncontrollable and rapid phase.
Many analysts and experts have considered this incident as one of history’s unfortunate events. This has become the starting ground for DDoS or denial of service type of attacks we are encountering today.
The MafiaBoy
The MafiaBoy was an alias used by a 15-year-old hacker named Michael Calce. This person has caused several computer mischiefs by unleashing a DDoS attack on several different well-known websites such as Amazon, CNN, Yahoo!, and eBay.
It was said to have caused damages that amount to $1.2 billion.
Google China Incident
The Google headquarters in China experienced a data breach and it opened up a lot of computer viruses and worms, implicating to attack the Chinese Government.
Illegal hackers have access to Google’s corporate servers and several intellectual properties have been stolen.
US Defense and NASA Incident
Jonathan James was 15 years old when he decided to attack and successfully penetrated the US Department of Defense and NASA, in 1999.
The total damage caused by Jonathan in terms of property and credibility is estimated to be at $1.8 million.
The Porsche Incident
In 1995, Kevin Poulsen became famous for hacking the phone system to win a car in a radio competition.
When he was able to penetrate the Los Angeles phone line, his win was guaranteed. He blocked all the phone lines and waited for the right moment to call.
Scientology
A hacker by the name of Dmitriy Guzner was charged and convicted for orchestrating a DDoS attack in 2008. He was with a group of gang hackers who are trying to attack the Church of Scientology website.
Solar Sunrise
In 1998, a group of three teenagers who have pretended to be an Iraqi organization launched an attack on the US government controlling over 500 private and government computer systems.
The Melissa Virus
The Melissa Virus was a simple virus that infected Microsoft Word documents and automatically transfers itself to an email attachment with 50 correspondents. This will go on and on until it was prevented and mitigated.
The incident is estimated to have caused $80 million in damages.
The Internet Incident
In 2002, a cyber incident happened to 13 domain name system root servers that are based in the US. It was a DDoS form of attack that lasted for an hour, it was one of the largest scales of attack that had happened.
Should the attack lasted more than an hour, the internet would have been placed to a halt or a standstill.
Credit Card Theft
In 2009, a hacker from Miami that goes by the name Gonzales has made the history of becoming one of the greatest frauds in the US. He stole millions of credit card information in over 250 financial institutions.
Career Opportunity
Cybersecurity is an essential part of our growing economy and society, especially now where everything is transitioning to the digital world.
This would be a great time to start or advance a career as a cybersecurity expert. You can enroll in our online educational program courses and certifications at RCyberSolutions.
