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To be honest, Cyber-attacks & threats making headlines every day are nothing new. And, with more data and information being shared digitally, before you would even realize, you might get targeted to a potential attack. According to last year’s Global Risk Report, Cyberattacks on infrastructure are under Top Five Risk of the Year. If that sounds spooky, you would be shocked to know that the cost of cybercrime damage is expected to hit $10.5 Trillion Dollars by 2025.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at top 6 biggest cyber-attacks in history that were launched as large-scale cyber terrorism and affected whole range of sovereign nations.
Here’re The Top 6 Biggest Cyber Attacks in History (2021)
Each of the cyber-attack listed below reveals the mistakes that lead to the exposure of millions of data records and other damage.
- RockYou2021
One of the biggest passwords leak yet, RockYou2021 has to be included in our list of Top 6 Cyber-Attacks of all time. During the cyber-attack, a massive amount of over 100 GB of Text files containing more than 8.4 billion passwords and associated user details were leaked. To put in layman terms, RockYou2021 simply became a free tool to help password crackers gain unauthorized access to several kinds of online accounts.
As per several security analysts, the data breach seems to have been compiled over the years and also includes the combination of several breaches conducted in Feb, 2021, which certainly leaked the 3.2 billion records online.
- Melissa Virus
Also known as Mailissa, Simpsons, Kwejeebo or Kwyjibo, Melissa Virus is considered to be one of the biggest cyber security threats in the history of Cyber-attacks. The virus was initially incorporated inside a MS Word File that was once opened and shared via email to more than 50 email addresses. Now, think about it, one infected computer had the potential to infect another 100 additional devices for each address list in every address book added. Within a few weeks, thousands of devices were compromised and eventually resulted in server overload, turning Melissa Virus into a DOS Attack.
The cyber attack resulted in a loss of productivity for dozens of users, as various email servers were down.
- Yahoo Data Breach (2017)
The breach was first reported in August, 2013 where Yahoo disclosed about the entire cyber-attack in which the personal data of over 1 billion accounts were compromised. In the particular instance, tons of security questions and answers were also conceded, leading to the risk of ID Theft. Later, the tech giant released official statements urging users to change their passwords and also change the encrypted security questions and answers, so that they can be re-encrypted.
Later, the company confirmed that during the major cyber-attack, no banking details and confidential information were leaked or stolen, but an estimation of 3 billion accounts were affected. Undeniably, it would still remain one of the biggest cyber threats in history.
- Google China Attack (2009)
In 2009, Google China had to face a series of cyberattacks, in which the intellectual property was stolen from the organization. You would be surprised to know that more than 30 companies were also targeted by the malware attack. During the cyber-attack, several investigators spotted that a set of Gmail accounts from the U.S., Europe, and China had been regularly accessed without permissions. On further investigations, these emails were found belonging to public activists and advocates of human rights in China.
Since then, all the eyes were darted towards the Chinese government, and that made Google to relocate its servers to Hong Kong in 2010.
- The Spamhaus Project
It is considered one of the biggest cyber-attacks in history, The Spamhaus Project. For people unaware, it is a dedicated filtering service utilized for extracting spam emails. In 2013, the company had to face a massive DDoS Attack that caused problems for the global Internet. Reportedly, a huge database that includes IP Address, Domain Names and other Internet resources were leaked that involved spam, malware content and other abusive activities that further lead to mass destruction.
The method of attack used in this case is known as DNS reflection and involves sending spoofed requests to so-called open DNS that can be accessed by anyone, anytime on the Internet.
- LinkedIn Data Breach (2021)
This is one of the recent and the biggest cyber-attack in which the personal data for over 700 million LinkedIn users were compromised. According to a report, conducted by RestorePrivacy, cybercriminals shared a sample data, in which records of more than 1 million users were included. Although the information doesn’t include any financial or banking details of users but it does comprise a long list of personal data, which is certainly enough to track someone’s identity and hence increases the overall risk of Identity Theft.
The data includes: Name of the person, Contact information, Physical Address, GPS records, Gender, Location, Email Address, and details of other social media accounts.
Are You Doing Enough To Protect Yourself Online & Your Devices?
Well, individuals and organizations can take simple measures to keep their data safe and secure online:
- Secure Your Device
Be it your computer, smartphone or tablet, giving it antivirus protection isn’t just a way to block computer viruses, but it also helps users to protect the data stored in it. We recommend our users to install a reliable security solution like Systweak Antivirus, that helps users to keep their Windows PC protected against all kinds of viruses, malware, ransomware threats, adware, spyware and more. The application comes with a dedicated Exploit and Malware Protection that ensures your computer stays safe from Trojan horse, PIP, zero-day threats etc. The software comes in three pricing bundles: For Individuals at $39.95, For Multi-Device at $49.95 and For Family at $59.95.
- Set Your Devices To Update Automatically
Make sure that all the patches get successfully installed on your device for both OS and every application stored on your PC.
- Avoid Clicking On Unknown Mail Attachments
Until and unless you know the source, avoid clicking on any mail attachment. You might not realize at the moment but it could open the gate for the biggest cyberattack in history.
- Maintain A Habit Of Changing Passwords
Make sure you update passwords for all your online accounts regularly. Try to keep it unique and make a combination of numbers, letters and case types.
- Educate Your Employees On Cyber Security
Well, this is one of the most important steps to tighten security within an organization. Get an expert who can train your staff about cybersecurity and share modern security practices, so that they can fight against the latest phishing attacks and more.
So, that was it! This was our comprehensive guide on Biggest Cyber-attacks in history. Want us to mention any specific cyber-threat that deserves a place in this list? Share your opinion in the comments section below!
