Cyberattacks are happening more and more often these days.

In this article, we'll look at seven real cases to show how security tests could have stopped huge data losses, financial damage, and harm to reputations.

Marriott Data Leak 2020: A Wake-Up Call for Hotel Security

In March 2020, Marriott International had a major data breach that affected about 5.2 million guests.

• Incident Date: Discovered at the end of February 2020, but it started in mid-January 2020.
• Data Compromised: Contact information, loyalty account details, personal data (such as company, gender, birthdays), partnerships, and stay preferences.
• Security Measures Taken: Marriott started monitoring their systems more closely, launched an investigation, and informed guests about possible phishing risks. They also reset passwords for Marriott Bonvoy accounts and offered monitoring services for affected customers.

How This Could Have Been Prevented

• Penetration Testing: Cybersecurity experts could have conducted penetration testing to find weaknesses and prevent the breach. These tests simulate hacker attacks to find security holes early.
• Security Awareness Training: Employees could have been trained to understand cyber threats and tested for tricks like social engineering to help them recognize risks.

TK Maxx Data Theft 2005: A Lesson in Network Security

In 2005, TK Maxx was hit by a serious cyberattack. Hackers broke into their wireless network and stole credit card details from millions of customers.

• Incident Date: Discovered in 2006, but the attack started in mid-2005.
• Data Compromised: Credit card information of at least 45.6 million customers.
• Response: TK Maxx improved network security and upgraded monitoring procedures.

How This Could Have Been Prevented

• Network Penetration Testing: Regular penetration tests could have helped find and fix security gaps in the network.

MyFitnessPal Hack 2018: A Big Attack on Fitness Data

In February 2018, MyFitnessPal, a fitness app owned by Under Armour, was attacked. This breach affected about 150 million users.

• Incident Date: Discovered in March 2018, occurred in February 2018.
• Data Compromised: Email addresses, usernames, and hashed passwords.
• Security Measures Taken: MyFitnessPal informed users quickly, asked them to change their passwords, and reviewed their security processes.

How This Could Have Been Prevented

• Red Teaming: Hiring experts to simulate attacks could have helped the MyFitnessPal team respond faster.
• Vulnerability Scanning: Automated scans could have found weak spots and stopped threats before they became big problems.

Twitter Password Glitch 2018: Social Media Problems

In May 2018, Twitter asked users to change their passwords because of a mistake that led to unmasked passwords being stored in an internal log.

• Incident Date: Discovered in May 2018.
• Data Compromised: Unmasked passwords of 330 million users stored in an internal log.
• Security Measures Taken: Twitter asked users to change their passwords and updated their internal security procedures.

How This Could Have Been Prevented

• Vulnerability Scanning: Automated scans could have found the problem with storing passwords incorrectly.
• IT Forensics: IT forensics could have helped figure out why this happened and how to fix it.

Adobe Hack 2013: The Importance of Software Security

In October 2013, Adobe experienced a data breach that compromised internal IDs, usernames, email addresses, encrypted passwords, and password hints for millions of users.

• Incident Date: Revealed in October 2013.
• Data Compromised: Internal IDs, usernames, emails, and encrypted passwords of over 150 million users.
• Security Measures Taken: Adobe investigated, informed users, and offered free credit monitoring services.

How This Could Have Been Prevented

• Live Hacking Events: Hosting live hacking events could have helped Adobe find weaknesses before attackers did.

Zynga Hack 2018: Data Issues in Online Gaming

In September 2018, Zynga, the developer of games like FarmVille, reported a breach that affected the data of over 200 million users.

How This Could Have Been Prevented

• IT Forensics: Analyzing attack methods and malware could have helped Zynga find and fix weaknesses to stop future attacks.

Improve Your IT Security with ByteSnipers

As these examples show, security failures can happen because of both system weaknesses and human mistakes.

The good news is that you can take steps to protect your business from these kinds of problems. ByteSnipers is here to help.

Our services include penetration testing, IoT penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, Red Teaming, Social Engineering, and IT forensics.

We provide strong security solutions to protect your company from cyberattacks.

Request a free it security audit now and take the first step toward strong IT security that keeps hackers out.