A Brief History of Hacking and Other Cybersecurity Breaches

A Brief History of Hacking and Other Cybersecurity Breaches

The history of hacking is a long list of cybercrimes that still plague companies as all data now resides on the internet. The best cybersecurity software available currently can ward off your company from companies that have been hacked in the history of hacking. 

Let’s explore the origins of hacking and how the history of hacking has evolved to be what we know today. 

Who Was the First Hacker in History?

John Draper, also known as Captain Crunch, was the first hacker in the history of hacking. The first in the history of hacking is no marvel of technology. Captain Crunch managed to trick the entire phone system, the original network, into sending sounds resembling the analog frequencies of automated phone systems. He is known as Captain Crunch in the history of hacking due to his mimicking these analog frequencies using the toy whistles in Captain Crunch cereal packs.

This feat in the history of hacking allowed Captain Crunch to place long-distance phone calls using specific analog frequencies. While no data was compromised in this first event in the history of hacking, it wasn’t the end. This shows that the first event in the history of hacking is simply a ruse preceding how cybersecurity works and the threats we experience today. Earlier attempts in the past of hacking were harmless crimes such as these, but it didn’t remain that way for too long.

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When Did Hacking Begin?

The history of hacking dates back to 1955 when the Technical Model Railroad Club modified the technical functions of their high-tech train sets by ‘hacking’ the machine. This definition is not what we are used to as we travel through the history of hacking. 

Later in 1975, the term hacker in the history of hacking evolved to mean someone who would infiltrate passwords and networks to associate them with cybercrime for the first time in the history of hacking. 

In the recent history of hacking, the term hacker can mean anyone with computer skills that has a good knowledge of bugs and vulnerabilities of networks and systems to exploit and access data. Nowadays, the history of hacking is a subject that people take in college, and it has created a whole industry in cybersecurity. 

While not all hacking in the history of hacking is malicious, experienced software engineers and network testers are also akin to hackers because of their ability to seek out vulnerabilities and resolve them through cybersecurity best practices.

Who is The Best Hacker in The History of Hacking?

Kevin Mitnick is regarded as the best hacker in the history of hacking. He is hailed as a notorious hacker in the early 80s and even inspired the movie War Games in 1983. He has managed to hack the databases of North American Defense Command (NORAD) databases, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), and Pacific Bell. 

Mitnick has served multiple prison sentences for wire fraud and hacked Pacific Bell’s network while on conditional release for previous offenses. He is still known as the best hacker in the history of hacking and is also known for not exploiting the data he hacked from these corporations. 

What is The Biggest Hack in the History of Hacking? 

The biggest hack in the history of hacking has to be when user data of Yahoo! Was breached from 2013-2016, resulting in the data of 3 billion users being compromised. The hackers involved in this incident in the history of hacking Belan and Baratov began the data breach by sending spear-phishing emails containing malware to Yahoo! Employees and gradually infiltrating most of their database to exploit user data. 

What is shocking about this whole ordeal in the history of hacking is the delay in Yahoo! In notifying its users about the hacking. Users that were hacked in 2014 were informed of their data breach only in 2016, and they later shockingly announced how over 1 billion user data was compromised as early as 2013. 

The FBI had to get involved in this most significant breach in the history of hacking, and there is suspected interference from foreign entities, which led to the data breaches. This goes on to show that even the most extensive is not safe from cybersecurity threats. 

Yahoo! faced class action lawsuits by the affected users and had to pay $117,500,000, one of the most significant settlements in the history of hacking. The perpetrators of this scheme faced jail time and fines, while Belan is believed to be still at large.  

The subsequent massive data breach in the history of hacking occurred before Troy Hunt discovered Collection #1 and all of the hacked usernames, emails, and passwords associated with previous data breaches. Collections #1-5 contained hacked data from previous LinkedIn and Dropbox data breaches in 2016, and over 2.2 billion usernames and passwords were leaked on the internet.  

Collections #2-5 were databases that were subsequently found on torrent sites even after the sites were shut down. Some of these files were available for a free download if not sold for anyone with $45. This incident is evidence of how data breaches can lead to your data being lost in perpetuity in the history of hacking.  

These incidents in the history of hacking show how it is more important than ever to safeguard our data and devices. Antivirus software won’t protect your business and can only save your devices, but you need the best cybersecurity software to protect your data and networks. Suppose your company deals with customers and has any form of a database handling that information. In that case, you must take the proper security measures not to compromise access to that data. 

Data breaches reduce customer trust in companies, and it would be a pity for your company to have its name and reputation go down in the history of hacking.

You can compare the best cybersecurity software available to select the best possible cybersecurity software to protect your information on our site. 

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