About every 11 seconds, someone is hit by a cyber attack. Cybercrime has unfortunately become a common part of our society, with attacks targeting everyone from individuals to entire countries.
Staying informed about these events helps us become more watchful, aware, and prepared to face a cyber incident should the need arise. With that in mind, here are five major cyber attacks that had worldwide repercussions—and what we can learn from them.
What Cyber Terrorism Means for Us
The effects of cyber terrorism can be devastating. Consumers can become victims of identity theft, individuals and companies can experience serious financial losses, national security can be threatened, and daily activities can be halted for all of us.
Cyber terrorism is a fairly recent development that becomes more prominent as we rely more heavily on technology. It involves more complex and sophisticated methods than many are familiar with. Because of all this, cyber attacks tend to be surrounded by propaganda, shaping narratives, amplifying the impact of attacks, and sparking fear.
This means we have to be careful about how we approach news of attacks, taking time to understand the facts and analyze what we can learn from each cyber incident.
Famous Cyber Incidents We Can Learn From
Each of these attacks caught worldwide attention for their significant effects and large-scale losses. Let’s take a look at what we can learn from each one.
1. Yahoo Cyber Attacks
Considered some of the biggest cyber attacks in history, the 2013 and 2014 infiltrations into Yahoo’s systems went unnoticed for years. These attacks weren’t announced to the public until 2016. In 2013, the entire Yahoo user base (about 3 billion people) was hacked, with names, contact info, birthdates, and security questions being exposed. The 2014 attack affected 500 million users.
One of the biggest issues surrounding this cyber incident was Yahoo’s reaction to the breach, as well as concerns about their cybersecurity measures—or lack thereof.
This showed companies the importance of implementing careful monitoring and other cybersecurity measures and being prompt in both resolutions and compensation for clients.
2. PlayStation Network Hack
PlayStation users were disappointed when their systems stopped working one April morning in 2011, but they were even more distressed a week later when they found out they had been victims of a huge data breach. Login information, physical addresses, contact info, birthdates, financial credentials, and more had all been left vulnerable to a recent attack.
Many were upset with the way the company handled the situation and wanted more proactive and prompt solutions. Big corporations can use the situation as a warning to stay on top of security and keep customers informed, while users can be reminded that even large, seemingly secure companies can never be too careful.
3. Melissa Virus
In 1999, David Lee Smith launched the Melissa virus, which is recognized as one of the fastest-moving viruses of that era. Lee posted a file online that was said to include login information for adult sites. When users downloaded and opened the file, their devices became infected. The Melissa virus would take over email accounts, overloading servers and slowing down systems.
The disaster spread quickly, as the virus was programmed to enter victims’ email accounts and send deceptive messages to the first 50 contacts, all containing a file with the virus. It’s estimated that 1 million email accounts and 300 businesses and government agencies were affected, with recuperation costs reaching about $80 million dollars.
This cyber incident helped spread awareness of the dangers and severity of cybercrime in an era when the world was still getting used to the idea. It especially reminded users to be wary of emails and files from unknown senders (i.e., phishing emails), a ploy that is still used today.
4. WannaCry Ransomware
With stolen EternalBlue technology that had been leaked from the NSA, hackers infiltrated around 230,000 Windows computers in 150 countries with the WannaCry worm. Once inside, they held files hostage, demanding Bitcoin ransom payments and threatening to delete files if demands weren’t met.
The saddest part is that this cyber incident was completely avoidable: about two months before the breach, Microsoft had released a software patch that protected against this threat, but users either failed to install it or had devices that were past end-of-life (EOL).
From this disaster, consumers were reminded to stay on top of updates and patches and keep devices current. It also raised concerns and awareness about the connection between cybercrime and national security.
5. Ukraine Power Grid Outage
In what’s recognized as the first successful power grid attack, hackers left about 230,000 people (around half of the Ivano-Frankivsk area in Ukraine) without power for several hours.
This breach was particularly concerning because it represented a new level of terrorism we hadn’t seen before. It showed how powerful technology can be in attacking large-scale systems and disrupting even the simplest daily activities, reminding corporations and governments to stay vigilant.
How Can We Avoid Incidents Like These?
Learning about these attacks can be scary, but it also gives us an opportunity to take a closer look at what we’re doing to protect our own information. Here are a few things we can do to minimize the risk of a cyber incident like the ones described above:
- Periodically makes plans to evaluate and strengthen cybersecurity plans.
- Utilize proactive, rather than reactive, measures like monitoring and threat detection, advanced spam filters, etc.
- Keep hardware and software up to date at all times. Install patches promptly and don’t ignore update pop-ups—run them the moment you see them or schedule them for later.
- Develop detailed disaster recovery plans (DRPs) to be able to recover and restore operations quickly after a cyber incident.
- Teach employees about common cyber threats and be sure they know how to identify and react to them, including email scams.
As we take these and other proactive steps to stay safe, we can slowly yet surely create a culture of cyber awareness and security.
Choose Safety and Security with AIS
At AIS, we take cybersecurity seriously. We know the importance of comprehensive, proactive solutions, and our diverse suite of services is designed to protect your most valuable assets from a variety of threats.
Don’t wait to learn from a cyber incident the hard way—start doing your part to be more safe and secure now. Take a look at some other famous breaches or jump in and schedule your consultation here.