Target, 2013
70 million Target customers had their credit card information, home addresses, and other identifying information stolen by hackers. And yet, it still wasn’t the biggest breach of credit card data. That honor belongs to…
Heartland Payment Systems, 2009
130 million credits cards were compromised in a 2008 security breach of the payment processing juggernaut. The data stolen was that of the information contained by the cards’ magnetic stripe.
Sony, 2011
Sony has had two big breaches, using different definitions of the word “big.” The first was in 2011, when 100 million Sony Online Entertainment, Qriocity and PlayStation accounts were accessed, giving hackers e-mail addresses, names, addresses, and credit card information, though Sony said at the time the credit card info was from 2007.
Sony, 2014
The other was the apocalyptic cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment from a group called “Guardians of Peace” that breached employees’ personal records and e-mail accounts. The subsequent leak of the e-mails to WikiLeaks led to the studio’s co-chair, Amy Pascal, leaving.
iCloud Celebrity Nude Photo Hack, 2014
Stealing the answers to people’s security questions pales in comparison to what a large number of female celebrities had to deal with in 2014, when hackers accessed their iCloud accounts and posted the nude photos they found on 4Chan, the Internet’s sub-basement. Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Amber Heard and others were among the victims.
The DNC Leaks, 2016
A hacker going by the name of “Guccifer 2.0” gained access to the Democratic National Committee’s servers and leaked 100,000 documents and 20,000 e-mails to WikiLeaks and the press. As a result, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned.
Anthem, 2015
78.8 million users covered by Anthem insurance had their information accessed by a hacker. Anthem is the second-largest provider of health insurance in the country. The information consisted of names, birth dates, Social Security numbers. The company said no medical or financial information was accessed.
JP Morgan, 2014
83 million accounts were compromised in the summer of 2014 thanks to a neglected server. That includes 76 million household accounts and 7 million small businesses.
Leslie Jones
Jones is just one person, but the recent hacker, inspired by professional troll Milo Yiannopoulos, that vandalized her Web page was one of the more notable examples of cyber crime.
