{"id":117669,"date":"2024-11-04T15:46:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T20:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=117669"},"modified":"2024-12-20T13:38:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:38:13","slug":"top-data-breaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/top-data-breaches","title":{"rendered":"Top Data Breaches in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Some of the most damaging data breaches of all time happened in 2024, as threat actors took advantage of tools like AI to launch the most sophisticated attacks cybersecurity teams have ever faced. Ransomware, credential stuffing, and phishing were the most popular methods among attackers, continuing the trends that started last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Massive security incidents at some of the world\u2019s most well-known companies exposed over 1.1 billion records, sensitive customer data, and contributed to a combined $9.5 trillion<\/a> that organizations spent dealing with cybercrimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with increased security measures and vigilance, the most catastrophic breaches are so destructive they can force companies out of business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep reading for more about the cyberattacks that made headlines in 2024, and learn how evolving defenses like Zero Trust<\/a> and passwordless authentication<\/a> can keep your organization off the list in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In April, a staggering cyberattack on National Public Data, a company that provides background checks and fraud prevention, may have affected as many as 2.9 billion records<\/a> and exposed the sensitive information of individuals across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A hacker gained access to a zip file containing passwords that were used to access the consumer database. The stolen data was put up for sale on the dark web, including names, birthdates, email addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n National Public Data cooperated with law enforcement and investigators in addition to implementing stricter security protocols that made it incompatible with some browsers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the measures, National Public Data\u2019s parent company was forced to file chapter 11 bankruptcy<\/a> in October in order to cover the legal costs and liabilities that resulted from the breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The notorious cybercriminal group ALPHV\/BlackCat breached Change Healthcare\u2019s<\/a> network via a ransomware attack in February. Hackers gained access to a trove of information including medical and health insurance records, social security numbers, and other sensitive patient data. Over 100 million people were affected by the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Change shut down its servers immediately after learning of the attack, disrupting services and causing outages across the entire healthcare industry for weeks. It was reported that UnitedHealth Group, Change\u2019s parent company, paid a $22 million ransom \u2014 but then fell prey to a double extortion attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Change\u2019s HIPAA compliance practices were investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The cost of mitigating the breach, fines, and legal fees added up to over $870 million in expenses for UnitedHealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a hearing, chief executive Andrew Witty admitted that the breach was carried out using a single set password, meaning one of the most damaging cyberattacks on the healthcare system in history could have been prevented using a readily available security feature like multi-factor authentication<\/a> (MFA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hacking group ShinyHunters breached Ticketmaster via a third-party database, using phishing<\/a> to steal the credentials of a Snowflake<\/a> employee. The group then deployed malware inside Ticketmaster\u2019s systems<\/a> that exposed 1.3 terabytes of data from 560 million customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It took several days before Ticketmaster\u2019s parent company Live Nation revealed the breach to the public, drawing scrutiny from regulators and criticism from customers whose data was compromised. Calls for stricter security policies and laws followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fallout from the attack is ongoing, with costs estimated to reach tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. The breach prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ticketmaster was further confounded when Snowflake denied any responsibility, claiming the breach was caused by compromised customer credentials<\/a>. Better insights<\/a> into their supplier\u2019s security practices might have helped Ticketmaster prevent this attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, a data breach broker posted 73 million AT&T customer records<\/a> onto a dark web forum. Information included names, phone numbers, emails, addresses, and social security numbers for over 7.9 million current customers. Many customers confirmed their leaked data was accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the data was published, a security researcher discovered that the leaked information also included encrypted passcodes, giving anyone with the information access to customer accounts. AT&T forced a mass-reset<\/a> of millions of customer passcodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AT&T\u2019s public statements regarding the incident have been limited. At this point, it\u2019s still unclear if the breach happened through AT&T\u2019s network or through a third-party vendor. It\u2019s believed that credential stuffing was used in the original attack, but it has not been confirmed or denied by the company. Costs related to the breach are estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If credential stuffing was the culprit, better password policies or conditional access<\/a> controls may have helped to prevent the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While AT&T was in the middle of dealing with this breach, news dropped that hackers had stolen phone numbers and call records for almost all of AT&T\u2019s entire customer base during part of 2022<\/a>. The attack was carried out on Snowflake, a third-party cloud vendor AT&T uses to house data. Snowflake said the attack could have been avoided if customers had opted in to multi-factor authentication on their accounts \u2014 an option Snowflake offers customers but does not require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 49 million customer records<\/a> were obtained and apparently sold on the dark web, in a breach on Dell\u2019s systems in May. The attack looks to have been launched with credential stuffing on Dell customer sales portal. The attackers obtained information covering transactions and order details between 2017 \u2013 2024, but there were no reported thefts of more sensitive information like credit cards or phone numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then a hacker identified as \u201cMelenik\u201d put the information up for sale on a cybercriminal forum. The post was quickly taken down, likely because a buyer was found. Though the information wasn\u2019t highly sensitive, Dell urged at-risk customers to be aware of phishing attempts that looked like they were official emails coming from the company and could lead to ransomware and malware attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Better access and Zero Trust<\/a> monitoring controls could have mitigated the initial breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Top 5 Data Breaches of 2024<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
National Public Data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Change Healthcare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ticketmaster<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
AT&T<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dell Computers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n