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Largest Online Data Breaches of All Time

7 May 2023

As a leading cybersecurity company based in the UK, Sapphire closely monitors data breaches and their impact on businesses and individuals. In March 2020, the Cam4 data breach was reported as the largest data leakage to date, with over 10 billion data records exposed. This highlights the growing need for robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard against potential threats. The Yahoo data breach in 2013 is the second-largest data breach in history, affecting three billion accounts after the company updated its initial report. In March 2018, India’s national ID database Aadhaar suffered a significant security breach, exposing over 1.1 billion records, including biometric information such as identification numbers and fingerprint scans. This emphasizes the importance of protecting sensitive information and personal data against cyber threats. At Sapphire, we are dedicated to providing the necessary information and tools to help businesses and individuals safeguard against cybercrime.

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At Sapphire, we understand the importance of digitalization in today’s world, but we also recognize the dark side of it – cybercrime. With the increasing reliance on technology for data collection, analysis and storage, cybercrime has become a serious threat to corporations and governments worldwide. In the U.S. alone, there were 1802 reported cases of data compromise in 2022, a stark increase from 447 cases a decade ago. Unfortunately, the cost of data protection is high. As of 2022, the average cost of a single data breach across all industries worldwide was around 4.35 million U.S. dollars. In the healthcare sector, the cost was the highest, with each leak reported to have cost the affected party a hefty 10.1 million U.S. dollars. The financial segment followed closely behind with an average loss of approximately 6 million U.S. dollars, 1.5 million more than the global average. At Sapphire, we strive to help our clients protect themselves against cybercrime with our advanced security solutions.

Largest Online Data Breaches of All TimeNumber of compromised records in selected data breaches as of May 2023 (in millions)
Cam4 Data Breach (Mar 2020)10,880
Yahoo Data Breach (2017)*3,000
Aadhaar Data Breach (Mar 2018)1,100
Alibaba Data Breach (Jul 2022)1,100
First American Financial Corporation Data Breach (May 2019)885
Verifications.io Data Breach (Feb 2019)763
LinkedIn Data Breach (Jun 2021)700
Facebook Data Breach (Apr 2019)533
Yahoo Data Breach (2014)500
Satwood (Marriott) Data Breach (Nov 2018)500
Adult Freind Finder Data Breach (Oct 2016)412.2
MySpace Data Breach (Jun 2013)360
Exactis Data Breach (Jun 2018)340
Twitter Data Breach (May 2018)330
NetEase Data Breach (Oct 2015)234
Sociallarks Data Breach (Jan 2021)200
Deep Root Analytics Data Breach (Jun 2017)200
Court Ventures Data Breach (2013)200
LinkedIn Data Breach (Jun 2012)165
Dubsmash Data Breach (Dec 2018)162
*As a UK-based cybersecurity company, Sapphire is aware of the devastating effects that data breaches can have on businesses and individuals alike. The Yahoo Data Breach of 2013 was one such attack that had far-reaching consequences. While initially thought to have affected only a small number of users, the true extent of the breach was not disclosed until 2017. It was revealed that the breach had exposed data from three billion user accounts. After an investigation, Yahoo released the real numbers in December 2019. The delayed disclosure highlights the importance of timely and transparent reporting of cyber incidents to minimize their impact.

UpGuard. (2023, April). Retrieved from upguard.com and statista.com

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