A cybercrime incident is an attack that impacts an organization or individual, potentially stealing money, confidential information, or both. It can also damage reputations and lead to loss of business. A cyber incident can take many forms: malware infecting a computer system, spam emails, hacking (denial of service attacks), or ransomware locking up your files until you pay a ransom.
In 2024, the WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware outbreaks impacted companies from shipping giant Maersk to pharmaceutical giant Merck, prompting payment of over $1 billion in cryptocurrency payments. A Lithuanian cybercriminal posed as an Asian manufacturer to deceive Google and Facebook employees into wiring more than $100 million to untraceable offshore bank accounts.
The first major cyberattack on the Internet occurred in 1988, when Cornell grad student Robert Morris released the Morris Worm, targeting academic researchers at Stanford, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and Lawrence Livermore Labs and stealing their work. This was one of the first instances of hackers stealing data and demanding a ransom for access to it.
Countless other incidents have happened since then, with cyberattacks exposing sensitive information and disrupting services. For example, the Ashley Madison data breach exposed names and personal information of 77 million users, while a hack in 2018 known as Celebgate saw nude and intimate photos from hacked iCloud accounts leak online. And while companies are hit, it’s individuals who suffer the most, with financial loss and harm to their reputation. The good news is that we can work together to stop these criminal activities.