In 2023, the cybersecurity community worked hard to deal with more advanced cyber threats. There were many serious cyber incidents during this year that caused real problems. Organizations that were attacked lost services and a lot of money. Also, millions of people had their private information stolen, making them vulnerable to more attacks.
In this article, CyberCentric has listed top 5 cyber-attacks of 2023, that are ranked on the basis of the scale of the incident and its longer-term effects. These incidents are listed in order of the dates the attacks were first reported.
- Royal Mail Ransomware Hack
In January 2023, LockBit Ransomware Group sent out a notification through its website, warning the Royal Mail to pay for the extortion remission. This impacted Royal Mail international deliveries. LockBit encrypts and steals data, and it’s assumed this occurred with Royal Mail.
Investigations are ongoing, and Royal Mail is restoring services after the attack.
- Ceasar Entertainment Scattered Spider Hack
On September 7th, Caesars Entertainment, a major U.S. casino chain, faced a data breach where the loyalty customer database was stolen by a cybercrime group called Scattered Spider (also known as Roasted 0ktapus and UNC3944).
Caesars admitted to paying a $15 million ransom, although the hackers initially demanded $30 million. The breach resulted from social engineering on an outsourced vendor used by the company. Despite paying the ransom, Caesars cannot assure its loyalty customers that their data is entirely safe. To address the situation, they are monitoring darknet sites, offering complimentary giveaways and free services, and pledging to notify customers if their data is found.
- 3CX Software Hack
In March, 3CX, a significant communications software provider, fell victim to a SolarWinds-like attack. With a focus on VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) in its application, 3CX caters to over 600,000 organizations, including major names like American Express and McDonald’s.
The compromise of 3CX resulted from an earlier attack on Trading Technologies, a financial software company, making it the first instance of one software supply chain attack triggering another.
During the attack, threat actors inserted malicious code into a software update, enabling them to execute commands and install malware on affected systems.
- 23andMe Breach of Data
In October 2023, the DNA testing company 23andMe suffered a major data breach where threat actors accessed customer profile information through a credential stuffing campaign.
The attackers claimed to possess 20 million 23andMe data records, raising concerns about the potential misuse of highly sensitive data, including ethnicity information. Subsequently, 23andMe confirmed that over 6 million individuals’ information was compromised in the breach. The hackers were able to access a substantial number of files containing details about users’ ancestry.
- British Library Attack
The British Library, one of the largest and most prestigious libraries globally, experienced a ransomware attack that disrupted both online and onsite services. The incident took place on October 28, and it was later disclosed that internal HR data was stolen and leaked.
These incidents highlight the growing threat of cyber-attacks and the potential consequences for organizations. Hackers and cybercriminal groups can cause significant damage and financial losses for companies, and the threat of data theft and public release of sensitive information is a major concern. Organizations must prioritize cybersecurity measures to protect against these types of threats.