These are the 4 of the worst data leaks so far this year and why you should be worried

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Data leaks are nothing new but the possibility that hackers can breach our accounts to steal valuable data is nevertheless an alarming one.

• When buying flights, looking for work, using social media platforms or consulting financial information, there's always a risk that you could fall victim to hackers.
• While hacking and data leaks aren't exactly anything new, the prospect of having your account breached and losing valuable data is worrying.
• Sophos Iberia has listed some of the most well-known and extensive data leaks of 2018.

When buying tickets online, when job-seeking, when scrolling through social media on your phone, or checking your data allowance, it may not seem it but you're at risk of being hacked.

 

Data leaks are nothing new but the prospect of hackers breaching our accounts to steal valuable data — or, worse still, the notion our bank details or corporate information ending up on the black market — is nonetheless a frightening one.

 

With people across the globe facing this unfamiliar digital territory riddled with the potential for security breaches, Sophos Iberia has listed some of the most well-known and extensive data leaks of 2018.

Facebook

In addition to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, this year was made rockier for Facebook when it was hacked in September.

Dado Ruvic/Reuters

In September, hackers stole digital login codes from Facebook, in what was described as its all-time worst security breach.

 

 

The leak, which allowed hackers to take over nearly 50 million user accounts, was said to be as a result of a vulnerability in the "View As" function.

 

It was this function that allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens, which enabled them to to take over the accounts.

British Airways

IAG recently announced that further customer details may have been stolen after its subsidiary, British Airways, was hacked.

AP

British Airways was victim to a hack that exposed about 380,000 customers' credit card details.

 

Over a two-week period, hackers used BA's website and app to steal data.

 

The attackers didn't break the airline's encryption, according to BA Chairman and Chief Executive Alex Cruz — he didn't elaborate on how exactly they had obtained customers' information.

 

 

According to a recent stock market filing made by its owner, IAG, hackers may have stolen additional personal data.

Ticketmaster

The ticket sales company said it had identified malicious software on a customer support product hosted by an external supplier.

Shutterstock

Popular ticketing platform, Ticketmaster, was hit by malicious software earlier this year.

 

The platform identified malicious software on a customer support product hosted by an external supplier.

 

Some of its customers' personal or payment data may have been accessed by an unknown third-party.

T-Mobile

According to Motherboard, customers were told to assume their passwords had already been cracked and should be changed.

Mike Blake/Reuters

In August, American mobile company T-Mobile also fell victim to an attack.

 

 

According to Reuters, personal information including everything from users' names, email addresses, and phone numbers, to billing zip codes and account numbers may have been exposed, the company said.

 

About 3% of T-mobile's 77 million customers — that equates to over 2 million — could have been affected, a company spokesperson told technology news website Motherboard.

 

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