The Biggest Cyber Attacks of 2019

Posted 5 years ago

This October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) 2019. The core focus of this awareness month is to help individuals understand how to keep their data safe by educating them on how viruses work, hazards to watch out for, and how to keep their computer safe.

This awareness month is clearly much needed as 32% of UK businesses identified cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months, costing these organisations an average of £4,180 a year!

It’s stats like the above that really stress the importance of strong cyber security practices in workplaces.

It’s estimated that cyber attacks will cost businesses worldwide $6 Trillion by 2021. With that in mind, we decided to put together a list of some of the most notable cyber attacks of 2019, to demonstrate how organisations of all sizes can be affected.

A police department

A data thief stole personal information of approximately 17,500 police officer applicants.

NBC stated that the compromised data included the officers’ names, dates of birth, parts of their social security numbers, and the email addresses and passwords they set up when applying for the job, according to the message.

An airline giant

A vulnerability in their e-ticketing system could enable a bad actor to view passengers’ personal data or change their booking information.

Threatpost estimated that 2.5 million connections were made to the affected domains over the past six months, so the potential impact is “significant”.

A major bank

A popular bank announced that a hacker had accessed about 100 million credit card applications, and investigators say thousands of Social Security and bank account numbers were also taken.

The Washington Post stated that the breach is expected to cost the company between $100 million and $150 million in the near term.

What about SMEs?

Unfortunately, the cost of Cyber Security breaches to SMEs can be devastating. It is reported that 60% of small companies are unable to sustain their businesses over six months after a cyber attack.

With over 50% of cyber attacks against small businesses being down to human error and system failure, it is crucial that those working in SMEs know how to defend themselves against cyber attacks.

Online Cyber Security Awareness Training

We offer an Online Cyber Security Awareness Training course to educate your staff in protecting themselves against situations like the above.

The course covers the different types of cyber attacks you may encounter, the most common ways malicious software can get into a system, and how to be vigilant when it comes to cyber security.

You shouldn’t leave your cyber security to chance; ensure your staff are educated enough to protect themselves.

Claim a no-obligation free trial to our course today!