Tag / 71 entries / page 6 of 8 / feed available
71 of the 76 analyses in Data Breaches carry this tag.
HSF · PEC · EGR · SCA — filled where the invariant would have prevented or contained the breach
The Aadhaar breach in January 2018 resulted in the unauthorized exposure of personal and biometric data of 1.1 billion Indian citizens. This was due to system vulnerabilities like unsecured API endpoints, allowing attackers access to sensitive data including bank account information. While specific threat actors remain unconfirmed, the large-scale data compromise highlights significant security lapses within the government’s database management.
Prevented by: EGR · Contained by: PEC
The Equifax data breach in 2017 exposed sensitive personal and financial information of approximately 145.5 million individuals, including Social Security numbers and birthdates. Attackers exploited a vulnerability in the Apache Struts framework (CVE-2017-5638) to gain unauthorized access. The breach highlighted significant deficiencies in Equifax’s data protection and vulnerability management processes.
Prevented by: PEC
The NotPetya ransomware attack in June 2017 caused extensive financial damage exceeding $10 billion by utilizing a compromised software update from MeDoc, a Ukrainian accounting software. The malware employed the EternalBlue exploit to propagate widely, primarily acting as a wiper rather than traditional ransomware. It severely disrupted corporate operations globally, affecting numerous high-profile organizations such as Maersk and FedEx, and has been attributed to state-sponsored actors linked to Russian military intelligence.
In 2017, a misconfigured Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 bucket at Deep Root Analytics exposed sensitive data of nearly 200 million U.S. voters. The breach involved personal information such as names, addresses, birth dates, and political affiliations. This incident was primarily due to cloud storage misconfiguration without any evidence of external hacking, highlighting vulnerabilities in data handling practices by third-party vendors.
Prevented by: HSF
On November 14, 2016, Uber suffered a data breach exposing the personal information of 57 million users and 600,000 driver license numbers. Hackers accessed Uber’s data by exploiting credential mismanagement and accessing unsecured AWS S3 buckets, following infiltration of Uber’s GitHub repositories. The perpetrators, identified as Brandon Charles Glover and Vasile Mereacre, demanded a ransom disguised as a bug bounty program to avoid public disclosure.
Contained by: EGR
The 2016 AdultFriendFinder data breach exposed approximately 412 million user accounts due to vulnerabilities in Local File Inclusion (LFI). Compromised data included usernames, email addresses, and passwords, mostly stored in plaintext or hashed with weak SHA-1, making them vulnerable to cracking. While the exact perpetrators remain unidentified, discussions suggest involvement from actors on Russian forums.
Prevented by: HSF, EGR
In 2015, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suffered a major data breach that exposed personal information, including Social Security Numbers and biometric data of approximately 21.5 million individuals. The breach involved sophisticated data exfiltration methods believed to be executed by state-sponsored actors, specifically linked to Chinese hackers. Vulnerabilities in OPM’s legacy systems, coupled with compromised contractor credentials, allowed attackers unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Prevented by: PEC, EGR · Contained by: HSF
The Anthem Data Breach in 2015 exposed approximately 78.8 million records, including sensitive Personal Identifiable Information (PII) such as names, birthdates, medical IDs, and Social Security numbers. The breach was executed via a phishing campaign linked to a state-sponsored group, reportedly associated with Chinese cyberespionage activities. The attackers utilized sophisticated malware including Mivast and Sakula to infiltrate the network and execute data exfiltration without detection.
Prevented by: HSF, EGR
In June 2014, a data breach at JPMorgan Chase compromised the accounts of over 76 million households and 7 million small businesses. The attackers accessed names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, leveraging phishing and exploiting network vulnerabilities. The breach has been linked to cybercriminals Gery Shalon, Ziv Orenstein, and Joshua Aaron, emphasizing gaps in network security and authentication procedures.
In 2014, Uber experienced a data breach impacting approximately 50,000 individuals, exposing personal information such as names and driver’s license numbers. Unauthorized access was facilitated through a publicly exposed AWS access key on GitHub, underscoring critical flaws in credential management and cloud security. No specific threat actors were identified, but the incident highlighted significant vulnerabilities in Uber’s data protection practices.
