Computers have become mandatory in every field. Either it is study, business or household works, they have become important everywhere. But it is not enough to have isolated computers systems as they need to be networked to facilitate communication with external businesses. This gives them exposure to the outside world. This also gives them exposure to cybercrimes and hacking. Computers are used by cybercrimes to commit fraudulent. Such acts include fraud, privacy invasion, stealing corporate data, stealing personal data etc. They affect many organizations. The effects can be to the level of millions of dollars every year. There is a need to protect computer information against such attacks.

What hacking actually is?

Hacking can be defined as identifying weakness in computer systems or networks. After this weakness is exploited, this weakness is used to gain access. An example of hacking is using by passing the login algorithm to gain access to a system.

Responsible hands behind hacking are:
A person who finds and exploits weakness in computer systems and networks to gain access is a hacker. Hackers are usually skilled computer programmers. They have full knowledge of computer security.

Now, lets have a look at the most dangerous hacking around the world :

1. The well known “Citibank Hack”

Usually hackers target military computer systems. Company computer systems can also be their target in order to find out information. They also do this as a form of protest. But there are others target customer accounts. They do so to benefit themselves. Vladimir Levin did exactly that in 1994. This was when he managed to access the Citibank network. By doing so he was able to steal more than $10 million from accounts. The Russian hacker was arrested in the UK. He was transferred to the US. There he spent three years in prison. Citibank managed to recover all. But $400,000 of the stolen funds wasn’t recovered. What happened to the money that wasn’t recovered is a mystery.

2.Yahoo went haywire:

Another latest example is of the very well known “yahoo”. For YAHOO 2016 hasn’t been a ‘good’ year in all terms . In September Yahoo shocked the world. It was so when it revealed that at least 500 million user accounts have been hacked .

Guess what, it is said to be the largest personal data theft from a major technology company and that too, ever. Yahoo later disclosed that the hack itself had happened in 2014. But only came into light in 2016. This made the matters worse. As the fact was that the hackers had access to all those account for two long years, i mean like yaa they were actually accessing user accounts for two whole years.

Thinking it is bad, chill wait, matters are going to be worse now. The fire gained more heat when Yahoo again disclosed that over 1 billion of its accounts were hacked back in August 2013 . In order to worsen the situation, the company hasn’t been able to identify the hands associated with theft according to Yahoo’s chief information security officer Bob Lord.

3.The Celebrity Nude Photo Leak:

Who is OriginalGuy? How did he gain access to so many private photos? The photos of the rich and famous celebrity ? Thess questions spread like fire.

Some blamed a “brute force” hack. This was recently unveiled by Russian security researchers. Some other wondered whether venue Wi-Fi at Theories were to be blamed. But the truth is much more shocking – the leaked photos don’t originate from a single hack. Instead the leaked photos were from a collector. He gradually added to his haul over months. But suddenly decided to post it online.

OriginalGuy was a well-connected figure. He was well known in underworld p**n forums. He hoarded the photos for months. He is known as a regular contributor to AnonIB and 4Chan threads. His real identity is still not known. He has been reported to be on the run from the FBI. He is threatening to release more photos unless he gets paid off. According to some OriginalGuy is “a loose gang of hackers working independently and trading to create the collection.”

4.The Sony Pictures Hack:

In this case the U.S. officials have confirmed the central involvement of North Korea.
North Korea indeed has motive. This is so as the Communist country is rumored to be angry with Sony Pictures. This is due to the release of The Interview. It was a comedy in which Seth Rogen and James Franco play characters. They attempt to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In fact, there was a message from the hackers demanding that Sony “stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War.”
The story is that on November 24, 2014, it was found by Sony Pictures employees that their corporate network had been hacked. The attackers deleted the original copies from Sony computers. They also left messages threatening to release the information. They said that they will do so if Sony didn’t comply with their demands. The network was down for days. The employees had to resort to using whiteboards. They had to carry on their work with good old fashioned pen and paper.
Confidential information had been leaked to the public. It included employees’ salaries , nasty Hollywood hardball emails etc.
The hackers, call themselves the “Guardians of Peace”. They promised to release a “Christmas gift” of “larger quantities of data”. They promised that this will put Sony Pictures “into the worst state.” Following this post, the hackers promised a 9/11-type terrorist attack. They said, “We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places ‘The Interview’ be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to. Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time.”

North Korea has officially denied a role in the attack.

5.The Wank Worm:

This happened on October 16, 1989. The U.S. Aeronautics and Space Administration in Greenbelt, Maryland, aerospace scientists logged onto their computers. They were hit with a banner from reading “Your computer has been officially Wanked. You talk of times of peace for all, and then prepare for war.”

The WANK (Worms Against Nuclear Killers) worm was believed to be part of a protest. It was to stop the launch of the plutonium-fueled, Jupiter-bound Galileo probe. Computers at the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA worldwide had been penetrated by the anti-nuclear WANK worm.

The worm attack did not stop the shuttle launch. The recovery from the attack did require a massive expenditure of money and effort. Some believe Melbourne-based hackers, Electron and Phoenix, were responsible for the hack. But this one was never proved.

6.The Malaysian Airlines Hack:

This all started when Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared into thin air. After this the Malaysian government was investigating the alleged hacking of computers and email accounts of officials. This hack was of email accounts that have been involved in the search for the missing flight.

The hackers transferred the data to a location in China. 30 computers were infected by malware. The malware was disguised as a news article about the disappearance of the plane, and sent to ranking officials, he said.

7.BSNL hacking:

The largest state run telecommunications network was hacked in the year 2012. It was hacked by a group called Anonymous India. The telecommunication network was slowed down as a result. All the official websites that were based on the network suffered. The group is often admired for activist-style actions. But it has not been traced till date. Some even say that poorly run BSNL deserved this.

8.Mafia Boy:

In 2000, a youngster gained access to the operating systems through his hacking . These systems were of some of the big corporate names like eBay, Amazon and others . He repeated the same incident twice a month. He was later arrested. He was famously coined with the name “Mafia Boy” by the media. He was jailed at the small age of 15. His real name is Michael Demon Calce. Well what’s interesting is his middle name.

9. Major theft of ATM numbers and credit cards

Albert Gonzalez was the one responsible for carrying out the largest theft of credit card and ATM numbers. He did so from 2005 to 2007. Authorities believed that Gonzalez stole more than 170 million individual card details. He did so by injecting various pieces of code into computer systems. He then used the stolen data to authorize fraudulent transactions. He used to withdraw money from the accounts. He managed to cause around $200 million damage .

10.Adult FriendFinder hack

One of the fresh hacks that made the headlines was the FriendFinder breach. It was one of the most controversial hack. The cyberattack was on the adult dating site. It saw sensitive data of over 400 million users exposed.

So, above are some of the events that took place in the cyber world that shocked the entire world truly.

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