Biggest Cyber Attacks in History

A program organized through one or many computers against other computer systems is known as the cyber attack.  A cyber attack is simply an attempt to leak the information or data of one or a series of computer network.  The aim of the cyber attack is to target data of any system whether it is any vast computer network or someone individual system. Here in this article, we will share complete detail of the History of cyber attacks records.

There are two wide categories into which the cyber attacks are divided

  • First one has the aim to disable other computer.
  • And the second one has the goal to target other computers to have access to their data.

Cyber Attack Types

Depending upon the type of technical method followed by cybercriminals, cyber attacks are differentiated into the following types.

1. Malware

Malware also known as “Malicious Software” included all those programs which are designed to cause damage to any computer, computer network or even a server.  Varieties of malware include worms, viruses, and Trojans which are different from one another on the basis of the source of reproduction and spread. These attacks can also execute the pc and network inoperable, and provide the attacker base access, therefore, they may govern the system remotely.

2. Phishing

Using this technique cybercriminals craft emails in order to fool the target into taking some harmful actions. For example, attacker sends an email to victim. Once he clicks the link it takes him to a fake website where he is asked for some useful information like passwords etc.

3. Man in the Middle Attacks

In this method, the attacker interposes himself secretly between the user and that web service which the user is trying to access. For example, an attacker might set up a fake login page which requires useful information from the user. Once the user enters his info the attacker fetches that information which can be very important like bank passwords.

4. SQL Injection

Many databases are designed to obey commands written in SQL and many websites send the data taken from users to database. In SQL injection, attacker writes some commands in SQL and sends it; if website and database aren’t programmed correctly the database might execute the commands which can be harmful.

5. Denial of Service Attacks

DoS is a powerful technique by which the attacker stops some online service from working properly. For example, the attacker sends so many requests to a database which makes the system unable to respond and hence becomes unavailable for anyone. A distributed denial of service is a technique used by cybercriminals involving an army of computers used to funnel the traffic towards the targets.

6. Cryptojacking

Cryptojacking is a special type of attack through which the attacker gets someone’s computer to do the work of generating cryptocurrency for him either by installing malware on the victim’s computer or by running some code which executes in victim’s web browser.

7. Zero-day exploits

Vulnerabilities between software programs up to expectation bear yet to keep fixed. The name arises due to the fact once a buffet is released, every period represents fewer and fewer computers open to attack as like users download their safety updates.

Techniques for exploiting such vulnerabilities are repeatedly offered and offered over the dark internet  and are from time to time discovered by rule agencies as controversially may utilizes them for their personal hacking purposes, as an alternative than releasing data about them for the frequent benefit.

World Largest Cyber Attacks

From the last few years, the number of cyber attacks increases day by day and it is very well known that this number will reach the maximum in 2019. According to one survey in 2016 number of the cyber attacks in about 758 millions in includes all the attacks from minor to major.

Here we will share a list and also the details of the biggest cyber attacks in history occurred around the world.

1. Yahoo

Yahoo is the number one target of cybercriminals. In 2014, Roundabout 500 million accounts of Yahoo users were hacked. It is the largest hacking of the individual databases. The stolen data includes names, contact information, addresses, date of births and passwords.

Another hacking incidence in the history of Yahoo was done in 2012 where 200 million accounts user names and passwords were stolen by the “Peace” for $1900.

In March 2014, only 32 million accounts had been affected. But the cyber attack relaunched the investigation of the 2014 hack, as much the attackers used a device stolen as year, allowing to them after originate malicious cookies and log in without passwords.

2. Theft of more than one billion passwords

In August 2014, 1.2 billions usernames and passwords of about 420000 websites from the whole world are stolen by the Russian Hackers which is revealed by IT security company Hold Security. It ought to probably have allowed the team of hackers “CyberVor” to get entry to 500 million email accounts. Hackers used programmed botnets to go to websites and operate vulnerability assessments in order to exploit SQL injection vulnerabilities and get entry to databases.

Though it is a mild attack but it had no major consequences. FBI stated that the hacked data is only used for the large spam campaign on social networks. The real aim of this hacking was not known to the organization.

3. Marriott hotels: privacy of 500 million customers compromised

Information from up to 500 million visitors at the Marriott-owned Starwood hotel team has been compromised, consisting of banking data. The bloom had been begin since 2014 and was preceding spotted ultimate September. Even if, as much Marriott says, the range of customers so suffered a break of private data is anywhere close to 327 million, the implications are massive. Information accessed includes price information, names, mailing addresses, cell phone numbers, e mail addresses, passport numbers, and also small print in regard to the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) account, a high-end card these days launched by way of the American Express credit card issuer for ordinary travelers.

“Marriott was once proceeding alerted in accordance with a brawny break within September that said, so an inner protection device found any individual was once trying to get entry to its database. It after discovered to that amount humans appeared to have been into the database since 2014, and it had copied information interestingly together with a argue to taking it.”

4. Adult Friend Finder exposed

Hacking of the dating site was done for the first time in 2015. Data of about 4 million public account were not available normally, that is only available on Tor. The data was recovered by malicious actors. Stolen data was used for the spam campaign. No banking information is stolen.

5. Equifax: a tricky crisis management

An American credit company Equifax also suffered from a cyber attack in July 2017. This is one of the biggest cyber attacks in history of the banking world. The information including names. Date of birth. Insurance numbers and driving license numbers were stolen of 143million American; Canadian and British costumers of the company and also over 200,000 credit card numbers were also stolen.

Complaints in opposition to the organization as well as suspicions about insider buying and selling were levied in view that the vulnerability concerning Apache Struts used through the hackers was once well known and numerous executives about the organization offered inventory simply days earlier than the protection contravention was once performed public.

6. Alteryx data leak exposes 123 million households

The data included 248 fields of data for every household, ranging out of addresses and earnings to ethnicity and private interests. Advertising analytics sure left an unsecured database online that publicly exposed sensitive data for about 123 million U.S. households.

Details covered advice information, personal loan ownership, monetary histories or whether or not a household contained a dog or cat enthusiast. All over it used to be uncovered on a publicly available AWS S3 storage cache. Names were no longer included.

7. Target Targeted

US discount 2nd largest ranch in is target which is also not safe from the cybercriminals. It becomes a victim of a cyber attack in 2013 December. 110 million customers information were stolen within the duration of 27th November and 15th December. Banking data of 40 million customers were also hijacked along with it personal information of 70 million customers was stolen which includes names, date of births, postal address, email address and cell phone numbers.

The attack was not founded by target itself, an American secret service notices the abnormality in the banking movements of the target and then warn the company. On the base of survey of the American secret service hacking of the target was done from Eastern Europe. It had set up malware among cash registers to read statistics from the credit card terminals. This method is regarded as much RAM Scraping. Once the facts had been hijacked, the attackers resold it about the black market. Target used to be subsequently required to offer above 18 million dollars so a contract for government investigations into the attack.

8. The South Korean nightmare

The South Koreans discovered in January 2014 as records beyond one hundred million deposit cards had been stolen over the route of numerous years. Behind the transfer was an worker of the Korea Credit Bureau (KCB), a solvency company. In addition, 20 million bank debts had additionally been hacked. For worry over having their bank bills emptied, extra than 2 million South Koreans had their credit cards blocked and replaced. He stole private records beside clients about deposit card organizations when that labored for them so a consultant by means of virtually copying the information to an external hard drive. He since resold the data in accordance with deposit merchants and telemarketing companies.

9. Panic at Sony

In April 2011, Sony’s PlayStation Network was once attacked. Sony Pictures Entertainment was once attacked by malware and greater precisely, by using a computer worm. The multiplayer gambling service, online gaming buying and live content material assignment regarding the Japanese brand contained the private records of seventy-seven million customers as was leaked.

To appease their users, Sony paid 15 bags of greenbacks in amends adjunct a not many lot dollars of criminal charges in addition to base to refund the humans whose bank accounts had been illegally used. After the intrusion discovery, PSN, as properly as like Sony Online Entertainment or Qriocity, had been bolted for one month. Banking data of tens concerning lots regarding players was also compromised.

This cyber attack should hold been generally avoided. Indeed, hackers back well-known network vulnerability so Sony chose to ignore. Data used to be unencrypted and ought to without problems be hijacked gratefulness to an absolutely easy SQL injection.

10. Adobe was going through hell

In the counting of biggest cyber attacks in history hacking of the Adobe is also a major one. IT infrastructure of Adobe was announced to be hijacked in October 2013.  Personal data including names, passwords, logins, credit card numbers and expiry dates of 2.9 million accounts were stolen.

Another file determined over the internet last brought the quantity of accounts affected through the assault to one hundred fifty million (only 38 million active accounts). For instance, the complete supply code for the ColdFusion manufacture was black as much well as much parts on the supply codes for Acrobat Reader and Photoshop. If other assaults had been according to be feared, those did no longer ultimately receive place.

To get entry to that information, the hackers took abilities of a security break at the publisher, particularly related to protection practices around passwords. The stolen passwords had been encrypted alternatively about animal chopped as much recommended. The company was once attacked now not only for its consumer information, however additionally for its manufacture data. Indeed, the close stressful problem for Adobe was the theft over upon 40GB about source code. Fortunately, if this had led to banking facts additionally life stolen, that was once at least unusable due to the fact over magnificent encryption by Adobe.

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