Each year businesses around the globe are devastated by hackers stealing confidential information. These massive data breaches have resulted in billions of dollars in lost revenue over the past decade. Learn more about the real Cost of Hacking.
2. The threat hackers pose
to businesses is
undeniable, but what
costs exactly do those
threats entail? Let's take a
closer look at some of the
costliest attacks hackers
have ever performed:
Click this icon to tweet information from each slide.
3. HEARTLAND
(2008)
In 2008, hackers broke into the network at
Heartland Payment Systems, the fifth largest
payments processor in the U.S. Thirteen
pieces of malware capitalized on weaknesses
in Microsoft software. When card issuers
reported a possible breach in October,
Heartland hired two companies to search the
network. The following January, they located
the breach.
TYPE OF DATA STOLEN
cardholder namesaccount numberstrack data from credit
card magnetic strips
555687
950361
555687
950361
MONEY LOST
RECORDS LOST
130 Million
$12.6 Million
4. In May of 2014, global online retailer eBay
discovered a breach in its main database,
which held user passwords.
Compromised between late February and
early March, the system remained
vulnerable for at least three months.
Financial costs are not specified, but
“Non-GAAP operating margin was 24.4
percent, down 190 basis points.”
EBAY
(2014)
phone numbers dates of birth
TYPE OF DATA STOLEN
email registered addressespasswordscustomer names
RECORDS LOST
145 Million
5. TJ MAXX
(2005-07)
In 2005, hackers broke into wireless networks
that made use of WEP, a relatively weak security
protocol. The bad guys then accessed TJX
internal systems, and remained undetected for 1
1/2 to 2 years. In the end, the hackers accessed
94 million records -- more than twice the 46
million originally estimated.
RECORDS LOST
94 MillionMONEY LOST
$130 Million
TYPE OF DATA STOLENcredit card numbers
6. RECORDS LOST
145 Million
LIVINGSOCIAL
(2013) In April of 2013, hackers tapped into
LivingSocial computer systems,
accessing customer data from servers.
Among the stolen data: encrypted
passwords, though LivingSocial does
"hash" and "salt" its PWs. Thankfully,
credit card information lived elsewhere
and was untouched.
TYPE OF DATA STOLEN
names email
addresses
dates of birth encrypted
passwords
7. MONEY LOST
RECORDS LOST
56 Million
$43 Million
Attackers used a 3rd-party vendor's login
information to gain entry into Home Depot's
network—then acquired elevated rights,
which enabled them to release customized
malware into the retailer's self-checkout
systems. Home Depot reported $43 million
of pre-tax expenses linked to the breach in
the 3rd quarter of 2014 alone. These
included costs to investigate the breach,
protect the identities of affected customers,
staff additional call centers, and secure legal
and professional services. The
home-improvement giant expects additional
lawsuits from payment card networks that
suffered fraud losses, and that incurred
additional operating expenses, such as card
replacement costs. As of November 2014,
44 lawsuits were in the wings.
HOME DEPOT
(2014)
TYPE OF DATA STOLEN
credit & debit
card information
email
addresses
8. MONEY LOST
RECORDS LOST
77 Million
$15 Million
customer names billing addresses birthdates PSN passwords
and logins
profile data securirty
questions
purchase
histories
TYPE OF DATA STOLEN
SONY PSN
(2011)
On April 19, 2011, Sony discovered hackers had breached its Playstation
Network (PSN) and stolen data from 77 million user accounts over the
previous two days. The mega-brand immediately shut down the
network... but waited a week to announce the reason. Sony denies that
any credit card data was taken, while attorneys involved in a class-action
suit claim the hackers offered for purchase 2.2 million credit card
numbers and verification codes.
9. RECORDS LOST
700 MillionMONEY LOST
$38 Million
ADOBE
(2013)
TYPE OF DATA STOLENusernames encrypted
passwords
********
credit & debit
card information
source code for products like
Photoshop & Acrobat
In October of 2013, attackers stole several million
usernames and encrypted passwords, as well as
approximately 2.9 million encrypted credit or debit
card numbers. Shortly after, a 3.8GB file with more
passwords showed up online though Adobe
claimed that this could include inactive IDs, test
accounts, and IDs with invalid passwords.
10. RECORDS LOST
10 Million
SONY PICTURES
(2014)
TYPE OF DATA STOLEN
5 filmspasswordssalaries of
6000 employees
In November 2014, anonymous hackers
e-mailed execs at Sony Pictures,
alleging "great damage by Sony Pictures
(sic)," and threatening the company
would be "bombarded as a whole" if
demands weren't met. A few days later,
suspicions indicated that the attack was
related to the pending release of The
Interview, a Sony comedy about the
assassination of the North Korean
Leader Kim Jong Un. As well, several
pieces of sensitive data leaked online,
including Sony employee salaries and
contact information, and torrents of
unreleased Sony films, including Annie,
Mr. Turner, Still Alice, and To Write Love
on Her Arms. Specific numbers aren't
yet available, but even brand reputation
costs are huge. Sony canceled the
release of The Interview, and employees
filed a class-action lawsuit against their
own company for not securing networks,
nor protecting companies after their
personal information was compromised.