The 8 Biggest Data Breaches in History

As more of our lives go digital, the threat of data breaches becomes more of a concern to everyone - consumers, businesses, and the government.

And the security breaches seem to be coming more frequently. Just today (Thursday), the United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said that 51 stores in 24 states had been hacked and some private customer data stolen.

While only a fraction of cyberattacks are successful - hundreds of thousands are made every day - the few that do succeed typically cause a lot of harm.

That's why cybersecurity has become a priority for government and businesses alike. They all dread data breaches that become media circuses and tarnish reputations.

And no wonder. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is still suffering from weaker sales resulting from its data breach last fall, when hackers stole 40 million customer credit card numbers and other personal data, like email addresses, from as many as 70 million customers.

The infographic below shows the eight biggest data breaches in history - all of which have happened within the past decade.

Infographic of Data Breaches

Infographic courtesy of: Who Is Hosting This?

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About the Author

David Zeiler, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 18 spent at The Baltimore Sun. He has worked as a writer, editor, and page designer at different times in his career. He's interviewed a number of well-known personalities - ranging from punk rock icon Joey Ramone to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Over the course of his journalistic career, Dave has covered many diverse subjects. Since arriving at Money Morning in 2011, he has focused primarily on technology. He's an expert on both Apple and cryptocurrencies. He started writing about Apple for The Sun in the mid-1990s, and had an Apple blog on The Sun's web site from 2007-2009. Dave's been writing about Bitcoin since 2011 - long before most people had even heard of it. He even mined it for a short time.

Dave has a BA in English and Mass Communications from Loyola University Maryland.

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