Many people worry about a nuclear war, but others believe that if a doomsday conflict erupts, it will be fought with a very different kind of weapon: horrific cyberattacks. They note that sinister forces out there already have successfully attacked major companies and strategic targets. Are they planning even worse?
The following is just one of the recent “events” that have shocked the business world. On June 19, CDK Global, a multinational company that provides software for the auto industry, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks. Those impacted 15,000 car dealers in the U.S. and Canada, prevented their ability to record and analyze data and disrupted sales and financing of vehicles.
According to Reuters, analysts attributed the hack to BlackSuit, “a cyber criminal team spun off (from) a Russian-linked hacking group named RoyalLocker.” The hackers reportedly demanded ransom to allow CDK to regain access to their data, and at least one news source reported that a $10 million ransom was paid. Services to an increasing number of CDK dealers were being restored in the days following the hack.
“Already this year we have seen some of the biggest, most damaging data breaches in recent history,” tech publication Tech Crunch wrote at the end of June. “And just when you think that some of these hacks can’t get any worse, they do.”
Brazen And Dangerous
The CDK hack was in that category. Economists say it was so serious that had it continuedm it would have impacted not only America’s GDP but the global GDP too. This brazen and dangerous hack was far from the only one that made people raise their eyebrows – others were still worse.
According to Tech Crunch, among the data compromised in the various cyber hacks were humongous amounts of personal information that have been deleted and/or stolen and sold on the dark web. They also report that medical data about most people in the U.S. have been stolen and, in some cases, posted online.
“The worst data breaches of 2024 to date have already surpassed at least 1 billion stolen records and that number keeps rising. These breaches not only affect the individuals whose data were irretrievably exposed, but also embolden the criminals who profit from their malicious cyberattacks.”
Prediction On Target
Three years ago, World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab opened Cyber Polygon 2021 with a warning. “A lack of cyber security has become a clear and immediate danger to our society worldwide,” he said. Schwab predicted that the next big attack in the world would be a cyberattack and decried the fact that governments were paying insufficient attention to the frightening scenarios that could be unleashed. Although the world has learned a great deal about those from painful experience, he said it hasn’t done enough to mitigate their threat.
In late 2023, ABC News aired the following report. “Mortgage and loan giant Mr. Cooper was hit with a cyber breach that involved ‘substantially all of their current and former customers’ sensitive personal information’ according to data it filed with state and federal regulators.” That attack may have affected more than 14 million customers.
In 2024, a breach at Verizon resulted in the theft of personal and sensitive information of 63,000 customers, but less than a year before, the company was the victim of a much broader attack. In that one, hackers stole the private data of 7.5 million customers and posted that on Breached Forums, said to be a popular hacker forum. It included contract information, data information and more, but other personal data was not included. Those customers were very fortunate, because in other attacks, Social Security numbers, date of birth, addresses, and emails were among the data stolen and, in some cases, posted online.
Hackers sometimes attack major health-related companies – they are a favorite target of some of them. CNN reported a major cyberattack in May disrupted clinical operations at Ascension, a major health care network; Ascension was forced to take steps to minimize impact on patient care.
Will History Repeat Itself?
When the pandemic started spreading across the country in early 2020, panic and chaos quickly followed. “The situation in 2020 is going to look like a mere disturbance in comparison to the major cyberattacks that are coming,” Schwab recently warned.
According to market observer and commentator John Williams, there have been nearly 10,000 data breaches affecting millions in only the first half of this year. The companies that have been victimized are not just very small and obscure firms that have little impact on people or on other businesses. They include some of the biggest and most powerful firms that had been widely considered unbreachable and involved millions of people. Among the corporate victims are Apple, Meta, Twitter, LinkedIn, Dropbox, and others.
“All were affected by massive data breaches,” said Williams, “and at least 26 billion records were exposed. No one is safe today. Your personal data can be stolen at any moment.”
Q’s and A’s
There are situations when the challenges we face are very clear, but the solutions are not; protecting against getting hacked is one of these. One reason is that there are skilled hackers all over – some here in the U.S., while other very sophisticated groups are said to originate from or have ties to Russia, Ukraine, China, Nigeria, Romania, the U.K. and more. Besides, rogue hackers can pop up anywhere at any time.
Considering that even powerful companies with very sophisticated safeguards have become their prey, what chance do ordinary people have of escaping their schemes? This is a very real problem, and one that both individuals, corporations and governments are grappling with.
The November 20, 2023, issue of Business News Daily has a very lengthy, informative, and helpful article about hacking. A few very quick points it makes:
– Passwords should never be simple like “abcde” or “12345” etc. but rather be one that is very hard to guess;
– Suspicious emails should never be opened. Even emails that appear to be from your bank or other companies you do business with should be regarded with caution, because official-looking emails can be created very easily using very inexpensive software. The article in Business News is well worth reading.
AT&T says data from 109 million U.S. customer accounts were stolen earlier this month. Going forward, AI will become more sophisticated and probably more accessible and, as it does, it’s a very good bet that hackers are already drooling at the prospect of using it for sinister purposes.
We’re living in very dangerous times and people’s data, finances, and privacy are prime targets. Speaking with an expert may help you avoid serious problems. It may well be worth the effort and the cost.
Sources: abcnews.com; businessnewsdaily.com; hpkcpa.com; ox.ac.uk; reuters.com; techcrunch.com; thisisjohnwilliams.com; YouTube: The Poplar Report: Water Plants Shutdown: Sabotage
Gerald Harris is a financial and feature writer. Gerald can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
