Tech Talk
Top 10 Organizations Hit by Major Cyber Attacks in 2024
In 2024, National as well as International organizations witnessed a surge in cyberattacks targeting its prominent technology and critical sectors, exposing vulnerabilities and disrupting operations. From ransomware attacks on banking systems to data breaches in telecom and law enforcement, these incidents underscore the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard sensitive data and infrastructure. Here are ten such notable incidents:
1. Apple Internal Tools Leak: IntelBroker also claimed to have acquired and leaked source code for several internal Apple tools. While the leaked code was not source code but plugins for internal tools, it still posed security risks by potentially aiding malicious actors.
2. Europol Data Breach by IntelBroker: The hacker group accessed and offered for sale confidential records from Europol, including employee information and guideline documents. Europol confirmed the breach but stated that no operational data was compromised.
3. Microsoft Email Breach by Midnight Blizzard: Russia-linked group Midnight Blizzard compromised Microsoft executives’ email accounts, accessing sensitive information. The attackers targeted system test accounts to infiltrate the company’s corporate email infrastructure.
4. WazirX Cryptocurrency Exchange Breach: A leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a breach resulting in the theft of over $230 million. The attack targeted one of the platform’s ‘multisig’ wallets, managed by Liminal’s custody services, and was attributed to discrepancies between Liminal’s interface and actual transaction data.
5. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Breach: A prominent brokerage firm, encountered a ransomware attack attributed to the LockBit group. The firm responded swiftly, affirming that business operations remained unaffected, and notified relevant authorities.
6. Bira 91 Ransomware Attack: An Indian craft beer brand, fell victim to a ransomware attack orchestrated by the BianLian group. Reports indicate potential data exposure encompassing sensitive information concerning finance, human resources, and proprietary recipes.
7. BSNL Data Breach: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a major Indian telecommunications company, experienced a data breach where a hacker compromised over 278 gigabytes of data, including International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers, SIM card details, and server snapshots. The hacker offered the stolen data for $5,000, highlighting its significant value.
8. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Data Breach: A threat actor, using the alias “infamous,” claimed to have breached the NDMA of India, accessing the personal data of 93,000 volunteers. The compromised data includes names, phone numbers, and other critical information, reportedly put up for sale on the dark web for $1,000.
9. Microsoft Azure and Outlook Outage: Microsoft faced a global outage of its Azure and Outlook services due to a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. The misconfiguration of defenses amplified the impact, disrupting services for thousands of users worldwide.
10. Snowflake Data Breach: Hackers exploited stolen passwords to access data from Snowflake’s clients, including AT&T, Ticketmaster, and Santander Bank. AT&T reported that nearly all records related to its customers’ calls and texts over a seven-month period in 2022 were compromised.