Target, eBay and other Major Cyber Attacks

The phenomenon of hacking is one that has been around for some time, as individuals utilized their computer skills (coding in particular) to exploit the weaknesses in a computer system. In many circles, the incidents involving hackers are described as cyber attacks – as they occur over a cyber space such as the Internet.

 

Some of these events oftentimes go unnoticed, as they may not have been aimed at any major organization, or it could be the major corporations that cyber criminals target have a top-of-the-line security system in place to shield them from such exploits. Having said that, over the years, hackers have managed to “crack” the system of some of the biggest household names.

 

Here is a look at some major cyber attacks:

 

Many customers Target-ed

In December 2013, major retailing company Target revealed that there was a breach to their database, with some 40 million customers potentially having their credit or debit card information stolen. In addition to this, other critical personal information such as name, home addresses and email addresses were also compromised.

 

As the investigations wore on, it was announced that the number of individuals affected were possibly in the region of 110 million. Some Target customers also received instruction to request a new card with a new account number – particularly those who used their card to pay for items between November 27 and December 15.

 

So what are the possible effects of that attack? Just over two months after the cyber attack, reports began to emerge that the breach had cost banks some $240 million. Interestingly, a bulk of this was in direct association with providing customers with new cards – does anyone want to imagine how much more it actually is when considering all the variables? Probably not.

 

Not Long After Comes eBay’s Demise

 

Undoubtedly, the nation – and online shoppers in particular – would have been hoping that they didn’t have to deal with an incident similar to that of Target so soon after. That hope was dashed, however, when eBay released a statement asking their customers (which stands in the region of 145 million) to change their passwords as a result of a similar database breach.

 

The investigations revealed that the database containing the customer information was compromised during the months of February and March, but nothing specific in terms of the actual dates. That being said, it is certainly frightening to imagine all that the damage that the cyber criminals could have exacted during that time.

 

If it is any consolation, it was announced that no unauthorized activity was detected as a result of the attack. eBay also reported that they store other essential information such as credit card details separately, so the database compromise would not have affected that information.

 

The Residual Effect

Though major in their own right, the repercussions in both incidents have the potential to stretch far beyond just the attack. By accessing the various accounts, all sensitive information such as physical addresses and date of births could set up customers to be victims of identity theft, and not just make them prey to credit card fraud – though it is the most popular occurrence.

Take a survey among any group of individuals and it would be no surprise if ID theft ranked among their biggest fears. A big reason for this is there is no way to know for sure the intentions of the cyber criminals with the information.

 

Other victims are…

It goes without saying that cyber attacks didn’t begin with the one on Target last December. As a matter of fact, there are a few major cases over the years that caught national attention.

 

… eBay

While some organizations may be able to walk with their heads held high having never fallen prey to a cyber attack, eBay was the unwanted distinction of being involved in multiple incidents. In February 2000, it was revealed that they – along with other major commercial websites such as Yahoo! and Amazon.com – were the targets of an attack by 15-year-old Michael Calce, who operated under the alias Mafiaboy. The total damages of the attack were estimated to be in the region of $1 billion.

 

 

… NASA/ US Department of Defense

 

Contrary to the trend of this article, not all cyber attacks are directed towards consumer-based entities. One of the biggest incidents non-consumer related took place back in 1999, when Jonathan James (interestingly, also a 15-year-old) managed to install a “backdoor” to the servers of the US Department of Defense, giving him unlimited access to thousands of emails. James’ attack involved a physical component as well, as he utilized the information garnered to steal a piece of NASA software – with an estimated value of $1.7 million – and caused systems to be down for weeks.

 

 

Target, eBay and other Major Cyber Attacks