Technological advancements have undoubtedly made life easier but they have also left companies susceptible to data breaches. Two decades ago, hacking was rare and most data hacks were considered newsworthy. Fast forward to today, even the biggest companies have at one point been hacked or have experienced a data breach. Here are 5 companies you wouldn’t believe got hacked!
Yahoo
In 2016, Yahoo revealed that it had fallen victim to one of the biggest data breaches of the 21st century (in 2014). This hack was particularly ill-timed as Verizon was just about to acquire Yahoo and this revelation had great impact on the overall value of the company.
Barely 4 months later, Yahoo admitted that there was a previous breach in 2013 that had affected 1 billion accounts, but later revised the figure to 3 billion accounts. How often do you protect your online data using VPN? You should go through various VPN reviews like the surfshark review to determine which VPN will protect your data effectively.
My Fitness Pal
My Fitness Pal experienced a data breach in 2018 and approximately 150 million user accounts were affected. This hack was part of a data breach that affected 16 sites, where the hacked data was later put up for sale. Even though My Fitness Pal admitted to being hacked, they never released the number of affected accounts.
They did however request their users to change their security information.
eBay
This hack is quite interesting because for 229 days, hackers had access to eBay and the company didn’t realize. How is that even possible?
eBay experienced a data breach in 2012 and approximately 145 million accounts were affected and their names, passwords and addresses leaked.These types of hacks make you wonder just how safe your data is. The good news is that with VPN’s such as astrill trial, you can easily protect your data from hackers.
Adobe
In 2015, Adobe had to pay more than one million dollars in legal fees after hackers accessed the data of around 378 million users. The breached data included passwords and user 1D’s and left credit card information exposed.
Adobe had previously reported that the hack affected 3 million users but later changed the figure. In addition to the legal fees, they also had to pay one million dollars to the affected customers.
Equifax
Equifax announced that they had experienced a data hack in 2017 and around 147 million accounts were affected. Interestingly, the company had been informed of gaps in their systems but failed to take necessary action against data breaches.
This hack saw the names, credit card information and social security numbers of their users in the hands of unknown hackers.
Is your data really safe?
Every time you browse the internet without a VPN, you leave your data vulnerable to hacks and data breaches. In this age of cybersecurity, data privacy is extremely important and you can’t afford to have your information fall in the wrong hands.
