GLOBAL CYBER ATTACKS

The biggest threats of the last decade couldn’t be stopped by fences and checkpoints.

RUSSIA US

HOLD SECURITY BREACH

August 2014

IT company Hold Security claimed Russian hackers had stolen 1.2 billion logins and passwords on 420,000 websites around the world. The breach could have allowed the CyberVor hacker group to access 500 million accounts.

CHINA US

THEFT, PLANE AND SIMPLE

2010 to 2015

Many experts believe China engaged in cyber breaches to steal information from Western aerospace companies, passing their intellectual property to Chinese companies which it then used to supply parts for its C919 airliner.

RUSSIA US

LINKEDIN BREACH

5 June 2012

Initially thought to have compromised 6.5 million passwords, in 2016 the company announced it was actually closer to 100 million. Russian hackers were thought to be behind the attack.

RUSSIA US

YAHOO DATA BREACH

2013 and 2014

The internet giant was attacked twice with a total of three billion user accounts thought to have been compromised. Investigators suspect hackers tied to the Russian government were to blame.

IRAN UNITED KINGDOM

ATTACK ON PARLIAMENT

June 2017

Hackers attempted to gain access to email accounts used by British Members of Parliament and their staff. The attack was originally believed to be the work of Russian or North Korean hackers, but was later blamed on Iran.

ISRAEL (SUSPECTED) IRAN

STUXNET ATTACK

Discovered in June 2010

The mysterious Stuxnet was slipped into Iranian nuclear facilities, subtly slowing its centrifuges to quietly disrupt the enrichment process of uranium and setting its weapons programme back years. The finger of blame was pointed at Israel, although no proof has been found.

“In many ways these attacks pose more of a threat than conventional warfare.”