9 Recent Cyberattacks Against Big Businesses - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/05/technology/recent-cyber...

By KEVIN GRANVILLE FEB. 5, 2015

Cyberattacks have become an ever-increasing threat. The F.B.I. now ranks

cybercrime as one of its top law enforcement activities, and President Obama’s
recently proposed budget would sharply increase spending on cybersecurity, to $14
billion. Here are some of the major attacks on United States businesses in recent
years.

Primera Blue Cross

March 2015

The company, a health insurer based in Washington State, said up to 11 million

customers could have been affected by a cyberattack last year. Hackers gained
access to its computers on May 5, and the breach was not discovered until Jan. 29,
Primera said. The breach could have exposed members' names, dates of birth,
Social Security numbers, mailing and email addresses, phone numbers and bank
account information. The company is working with the F.B.I. and a cybersecurity
firm to investigate.

Photo

Outside the Anthem headquarters in Indianapolis. Credit Darron

Cummings/Associated Press

Anthem
February 2015

One of the nation’s largest health insurers said that the personal information of tens
of millions of its customers and employees, including its chief executive, was the
subject of a “very sophisticated external cyberattack.”

The company added that hackers were able to breach a database that contained as
many as 80 million records of current and former customers, as well as employees.
The information accessed included names, Social Security numbers, birthdays,
addresses, email and employment information, including income data.

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9 Recent Cyberattacks Against Big Businesses - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/05/technology/recent-cyber...

Photo

A billboard for Sony Pictures’ “The Interview” was removed on Dec. 18, after the
studio canceled its theatrical run. Credit Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse —
Getty Images

Sony Pictures
November 2014

A huge attack that essentially wiped clean several internal data centers and led to
cancellation of the theatrical release of "The Interview," a comedy about the
fictional assassination of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Contracts, salary
lists, film budgets, entire films and Social Security numbers were stolen, including
-- to the dismay of top executives -- leaked emails that included criticisms of
Angelina Jolie and disparaging remarks about President Obama.

President Obama and national security officials have said North Korea was behind
the attack.

Photo

Outside a Staples store in Elmwood Park, Ill. Credit Scott Olson/Getty Images

Staples
October 2014

The office supply retailer said hackers had broken into the company’s network and
compromised the information of about 1.16 million credit cards.

Photo

A Home Depot in New Orleans. Credit Andrew Burton/Getty Images

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Home Depot
September 2014

Home Depot said about 56 million payment cards were probably compromised in
an attack that ran from April through September and affected stores in the United
States and Canada.

Company officials said hackers used custom-built software that had not been seen
in previous attacks. They estimated the cost of the breach at $62 million, which
included expenses related to credit monitoring and additional staffing at call
centers.

Photo

Outside JPMorgan’s corporate headquarters in New York. Credit Andrew

Burton/Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase
July-August 2014

The computer networks of JPMorgan Chase were infiltrated in a series of

coordinated, sophisticated attacks that siphoned off gigabytes of data, including
checking and savings account information.

JPMorgan Chase said account information of 83 million households and small

businesses were compromised. Authorities said the same hackers tried to to gain
access to the systems of at least a dozen other financial institutions.

In the JPMorgan attack, the bank said it found no evidence of any fraud or misuse
of customer information. JPMorgan said the hackers got access only to customer
email addresses, homes addresses and phone numbers but nothing of a more
sensitive nature like Social Security numbers.

Community Health Systems

June 2014

The company, a publicly traded hospital operator based in Franklin, Tenn., said
personal data -- including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and
addresses -- for 4.5 million patients had been compromised in a Chinese cyberattack
on its systems from April to June.

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Community Health Systems, which operates 206 hospitals in 29 states, said the data
was stolen from records of patients who had been referred to or treated by doctors
affiliated with the company over the previous five years.

Photo

A Michaels store in Colma, Calif. Credit Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Michaels Stores
April 2014

Michaels, an arts and crafts supply chain, estimated in April that data from three
million customers' payment cards may have been stolen over several months. The
breach exposed information like credit and debit card numbers and expiration dates.

The attack focused on the chain's point-of-sale system, and also affected a
subsidiary, Aaron Brothers, a framing company. There are more than 1,130
Michaels stores and more than 100 Aaron Brother stores.

Photo

Target has nearly 1,800 stores in the United States. Credit Justin Sullivan/Getty
Images

Target
December 2013

In one of the largest data breaches ever reported, hackers stole credit and debit card
records from more than 40 million Target customers, as well as personal
information like email and mailing addresses from some 70 million people.

The Target breach, caused by malware installed on the company's networks that
siphoned away customer information, happened during the holiday shopping period.
When it was announced, the chain's traffic and sales took an immediate hit, and its
profit for the quarter fell 46 percent. Update: Target agreed to pay $10 million to
settle a lawsuit brought by shoppers affected by the breach.

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New York Attorney General Seeks Expanded Reports on Data

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May 28, 2019

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9 Recent Cyberattacks Against Big Businesses - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/05/technology/recent-cyber...

Hacked vs. Hackers: Game On

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