Horrors
Real incidents. What actually happened.
They Waited Two Years to Tell You
The UK Electoral Commission was breached in August 2021. The public was not informed until August 2023. The data of 40 million British voters was exposed for almost two years before anyone outside the organization knew.
The Lights Were Already On
A hacker increased the lye concentration in a Florida town's drinking water to 111 times the normal level. An operator happened to be watching.
The Ghost in the Network
The SolarWinds attackers were inside US government networks for at least nine months before being discovered. They had access to the Treasury, the State Department, Homeland Security, and parts of the Pentagon. Nobody noticed.
The Dam They Almost Opened
In 2016, the US Department of Justice charged an Iranian hacker with gaining access to the control system of a dam in Rye, New York. The dam was 20 miles from New York City. The sluice gate was only disconnected for maintenance — otherwise he could have operated it remotely.
The Backup That Wasn't There
An Illinois hospital permanently closed after a ransomware attack destroyed its finances. It was the first healthcare facility in US history to cite a cyberattack as the primary reason for shutting down.