10 of the World’s Biggest Recent Hacks and Data Breaches That Deserve Your Attention

Play station hack

Sony PSN

It was a particularly rough year for Sony. Its PlayStation Network was hacked shortly after hackers also released tons of emails from Sony executives, which was allegedly a response by Korean hackers to the new film The Interview. Over the holidays, a group found a way to block thousands of PlayStation and Xbox users from getting online. The worst part for Sony is the fact that this wasn’t the first time hackers messed with the online network. Back in 2011, a group called Lulzsec hacked the gaming giant and forced Sony to shut down its PlayStation Network and Qriocity music service. This impacted roughly 77 million users and left them offline for more than 40 days.

nasdaq-1

Massive American Business Hack

Just last year, hackers pulled off what was one of the most frightening security breaches yet. The hackers took aim at some of the biggest companies and corporations in America, including Nasdaq, 7-Eleven and more. The massive security breach allowed the group of hackers to steal 160 million credit and debit card numbers and impacted a whopping 800,000 bank accounts. Officials said it was certainly one of the largest hacking schemes to ever be prosecuted in the U.S.