In the past two parts of this series we took a look at some breaches that swept the world between 2004 and 2009, thanks to a highly detailed (not to mention fun to look at) infographic by Information is Beautiful. But the infographic goes through 2014, and as most people reading this probably know, to compare the last five years of cybercrime to the period between 2004 and 2009 is kind of like pitting a monsoon against a rainy day in Seattle. Within the past five years, cybercrime has evolved to an extent that's truly frightening. And unlike a monsoon, digital attacks can hit anywhere and everywhere. Everyone online is a target. Instead of reviewing the recent breaches that everyone already knows about – Target and Sony have been bashed around enough of late, are we right? – we've chosen to detail some lesser-known incidents from the past five years:
- Gawker (2010): Gawker is the kind of site that likes to expose other people's embarrassments – they're the ones gleefully reading through and gossiping about all the Sony emails – so staffers at the site were doubtless left red-faced in 2010 when Gawker fell victim to a humiliating hack of its own. According to records from the time, the hack resulted in the exposure of 1.5 million emails, usernames and password combinations, Media ITE stated.
"We're deeply embarrassed by this breach," Gawker stated in a public post. "We should not be in the position of relying on the goodwill of the hackers who identified the weakness in our systems. And, yes, the irony is not lost on us."
- Greece (2012): In 2012, a Greek man was arrested for hacking … well, the majority of Greece. You see, the 35-year-old man was found to apparently have in his possession 9 million unique files containing identifying details like addresses, credit cards, and license plates. In a country with a population of 11 million, having data on 9 million of those people is absolutely insane. It would make the 35-year-old the ultimate Big Brother figure. But police stated that the actual number of unique records the man had in his possession was likely overblown due to the likelihood of the suspect having many duplicate files. What is evident, however, is that the man had conducted a large-scale hacking operation and had evidently done so with little help. In this way, the man and his treasure trove of private data point to the extraordinary power that a single hacker can wield.
- California Child Support Services (2012): If there's one line of work that deserves to have its operations go unimpeded by a data breach, it's child support services. But an unfortunate situation befell California's Child Support Services when records detailing private information were reportedly lost in transit, according to Business Insider. The loss of this physical data led officials to make a public statement that private information, such as names and Social Security numbers, might have been exposed. The department also reached out to those who could possibly be impacted and let them know about the prospect of a breach.
Well, that's it for our 3-part review of data breaches in the last 10 years. You want to know what the scary part is? Our discussion here doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. It isn't even a dent in the tip of the iceberg. If you want to view a modern horror story, definitely check out the interactive infographic we got this data from. Afterward, consider figuring out some way to keep yourself defended online.
