Every year, millions of hacking attacks target the websites of various companies and organizations around the world. However, the majority of these are isolated attacks that do not cause significant damage and are mostly thwarted from the outset. In contrast, there are several successful attacks on the websites of major companies or government organizations that have gained worldwide notoriety.
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Kevin Mitnick |
Behind these successful breaches are enormous damages incurred by companies, and the typical outcome for most of these hackers is imprisonment. Here are 10 of the most infamous hacking incidents of all time:
1. Early 1990s: Kevin Mitnick, known as the “master hacker,” successfully infiltrated the computer systems of major media and technology companies worldwide, including Nokia, Fujitsu, Motorola, and Sun Microsystems. Mitnick was arrested by the FBI in 1995 and released in 2000. He did not consider his activities as attacks but referred to them as “a social engineering trick.”
2. November 2002: A British youth named Gary McKinnon was arrested for hacking into more than 90 US military computers located in the UK. McKinnon is currently serving a probationary period in the UK to avoid extradition to the US, where he is wanted.
3. 1995: A Russian youth named Vladimir Levin became the first person to hack into a banking network to steal money. In early 1995, Levin hacked into Citibank and withdrew $10 million. He subsequently transferred the money to accounts in the USA, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Israel. He was apprehended by Interpol in the UK.
4. 1990: When a radio station in the Los Angeles area announced a contest with a prize for the 102nd caller, Kevin Poulsen hacked into the city’s phone network to ensure he would be the 102nd caller and win the prize. He was arrested shortly thereafter and served 3 years in prison. Poulsen is now a well-known editor for the online news site Wired News.
5. 1983: Again, it was Poulsen who, as a student, hacked into the Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet. Arpanet was a global network of computers, and Poulsen discovered a vulnerability in its structure, temporarily taking control of the network in the United States.
6. 1996: An American hacker deployed malicious software containing six destructive codes into the computer network of Omega Engineering, a company specializing in providing critical equipment for NASA and the US military. The code allowed a “logic bomb” to activate and destroy Omega’s production control software, resulting in damages of up to $10 million.
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Robert Morris |
7. 1988: Robert Morris, a 23-year-old recent Cornell graduate, was the first person in the world to spread a worm across the internet. Morris released a 99-line code intended for experimentation, but in reality, the code caused destruction wherever it spread. Computers in the USA and many other places worldwide were damaged. Morris was arrested and imprisoned starting in 1990.
8. 1999: The Melissa virus was one of the first viruses to wreak havoc worldwide. Written by David Smith, Melissa spread to over 300 companies globally and nearly destroyed their entire computer networks. The estimated damages were around $400 million. Smith was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison.
9. 2000: MafiaBoy, a minor, attacked some of the largest websites in the world, including eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo, from December 6 to Valentine’s Day in 2000. He hacked into over 75 computers across 52 different networks to carry out denial-of-service attacks. He was arrested in 2000.
10. 1993: This group referred to themselves as “masters of deception,” targeting the phone systems of the US. They attacked the National Security Agency, AT&T, and Bank of America. They created a system that allowed them to bypass long-distance phone systems and infiltrate private phone lines.
