Hacking news 2018

Here are some of the most notable hacking news stories from 2018:

  1. Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal: In March 2018, it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, had harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent. The scandal led to widespread outrage and calls for greater data privacy protections.
  2. Equifax Data Breach: In September 2017, Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting agencies in the world, announced that it had been hacked, exposing the personal data of over 147 million people. The breach was not fully disclosed until 2018, when Equifax revealed that the hackers had accessed sensitive information, including Social Security numbers and birth dates.
  3. WannaCry Ransomware Attack: In May 2018, a global ransomware attack known as WannaCry spread to over 200,000 computers in 150 countries, causing widespread disruption and financial losses. The attack was attributed to North Korean hackers.
  4. Google+ Data Breach: In October 2018, Google announced that it had discovered a security bug in its Google+ social network that had exposed the personal data of millions of users. The company said that it had known about the bug since March 2018 but had not disclosed it until now.
  5. Meltdown and Spectre CPU Vulnerabilities: In January 2018, researchers disclosed two major vulnerabilities in computer processors, known as Meltdown and Spectre, which allowed hackers to access sensitive data. The vulnerabilities affected nearly all modern computers and smartphones.
  6. Yahoo Data Breach Settlement: In July 2018, Yahoo agreed to pay $50 million to settle a lawsuit over a massive data breach that occurred in 2013. The breach, which was disclosed in 2016, exposed the personal data of over 3 billion users.
  7. Cryptocurrency Exchange Hacks: In 2018, several major cryptocurrency exchanges were hacked, including Coincheck, which lost over $500 million in digital currencies, and Bithumb, which lost over $30 million.
  8. Russian Election Interference: In 2018, it was revealed that Russian hackers had interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, using social media and other online platforms to spread disinformation and influence voters.
  9. Kaspersky Lab Controversy: In 2018, Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity company, faced controversy over allegations that it had ties to the Russian government and had been used to spy on US government agencies.
  10. NotPetya Ransomware Attack: In June 2018, a ransomware attack known as NotPetya spread to over 10,000 computers worldwide, causing widespread disruption and financial losses. The attack was attributed to Russian hackers.

These are just a few of the many notable hacking news stories from 2018. The year was marked by a number of high-profile data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other cybersecurity incidents that highlighted the importance of online security and data privacy.