Hideandseek.online Curates the Biggest Data Breaches Since 2000, Advises Businesses and Individuals on How to Stay Cyber Safe

The Internet-safety news website's latest listicle informs readers of the world’s largest data breaches and advice on how businesses and individuals can stay safe against cybercrime. This comes at the right juncture with much of the world inevitably being vulnerable to cyberattackers while transacting online today.

Ipoh, Malaysia, 28 June 2021 - HideandSeek.online (HideandSeek), investigative website for Internet safety, today announced that it has released a comprehensive list of 33 biggest data breaches the world has seen in the past 21 years. The catalogue gives an account of the cyber hacks of the biggest companies across the East and West, and across industries, including the UK National Health Service (NHS), Sina Weibo, Marriott International, Netflix, and Yahoo amongst others. In light of today’s hyper digital and virtually connected societies, HideandSeek also cracks down on the protection measures that businesses and individuals should take to reduce the risk of being cyberattacked.

The UK NHS, being the latest data hack of this year, starts the list countdown that contains the data breaches of companies ranging from the healthcare sector and the hospitality industry, to social networking services. In its compilation, HideandSeek uncovers when the hacks occurred, how many people were affected by it, and what information was stolen or left untouched. For example, it reports that Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, had its systems breached in 2020, wherein 538 million users had their real names, location, and phone numbers posted for sale on dark web markets, but password data did not land in the hackers’ hands. 

An excerpt of its report on Marriott International’s 2018 hack follows: 

“Impact: 500 million customers. This data breach initially occurred on systems supporting Starwood hotel brands in 2014. However, attackers remained in the system even after Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016 and were only discovered in September 2018. Stolen information included names, email and physical addresses,... Even worse was the loss of hashed credit card information; credit card numbers and their expiration dates. The breach was attributed to a Chinese intelligence group seeking to gather data on US citizens.”

HideandSeek also notes Yahoo’s cyber hack of 2013 and 2016, which compromised personal information like the real names, email addresses, and passwords of 3 billion users. 

“Online security needs to be taken seriously. Cyber attacks are getting more and more common these days because many businesses and individuals are coming online. It’s no longer a matter of if, but when, our systems or personal information lands in the hands of cyber attackers. A lot of our digital footprint can be traced easily, no matter how secure we think we are, because these hackers are very sophisticated,” said Jerry [last name], Founder of HideandSeek.online.

According to a report from credit-rating organisation Fitch Ratings, cyber insurance premiums in the United States recorded a 22% annual gain in 2020 and totalled around US$3 billion. Furthermore, the 2020 World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report listed cyber attacks on critical infrastructure as a top concern. 

In its article, HideandSeek educates its readers on how data breaches can occur, such as through phishing, SQL injection, and malware. The company also informs readers about what they can do to minimise such risk, like making use of anti-malware software, keeping good security habits of resetting passwords after certain periods of usage, as well as using a business VPN.

Aside from this, HideandSeek consistently provides quality investigative research on topics related to Internet safety and online privacy. Some of its best work include “Countries where VPNs are illegal”, “VPN vs Proxy: What’s the Difference?”, and “What Does Facebook Know about Me?”.

For more articles on data protection and censorship, find HideandSeek on their website.

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HideandSeek.online offers in-depth investigations and tips on Internet safety, data protection, and censorship.

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