The High Cost of Data Breaches: Three Companies That Faced Financial Ruin and How 8(to)7’s Advanced Post Quantum Encryption Could Have Saved Them

As cyber threats continue to evolve, the importance of robust data security measures has never been more critical. Data breaches not only expose sensitive information but can also lead to severe financial losses and long-term damage to a company’s reputation. In this blog, we’ll explore the technical details of three major data breaches that led to financial turmoil for the companies involved. We’ll also delve into how 8(to)7’s cutting-edge quantum-resistant encryption could have protected these companies from such devastating attacks.

1. Equifax: The Critical Patch That Was Never Applied

The Breach: In September 2017, Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting agencies in the U.S., announced that it had been the victim of a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. The breach was initiated by exploiting a vulnerability in the Apache Struts framework, an open-source web application software that was integral to Equifax’s online dispute portal.

Technical Details: The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2017-5638, allowed attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the Equifax servers. Despite being a known vulnerability with an available patch, Equifax had not updated its software, leaving its systems wide open to attack. Once inside, the attackers deployed tools to explore and exfiltrate data from Equifax’s systems. Over 76 days, the attackers siphoned off sensitive data, including names, social security numbers, birth dates, and credit card details, all while remaining undetected.

Financial Impact: The breach cost Equifax over $1.4 billion in settlements, including fines, legal fees, and consumer compensation. Moreover, the company’s stock price plummeted by 35%, erasing billions of dollars in market value and shaking consumer confidence.

How 8(to)7 Could Have Prevented This: Equifax’s breach was the result of both a failure to patch known vulnerabilities and inadequate encryption methods. 8(to)7’s advanced encryption technology could have provided a formidable defense against such an attack. Here’s how:

• NaveoI Standard with 4096-bit Encryption: The NaveoI Standard, a cornerstone of 8(to)7’s technology, uses 4096-bit keys till unlimited key seize —a far cry from the weaker encryption methods traditionally used. This massive key size makes it nearly impossible for attackers to break the encryption, even with the most powerful computers available today.

• Quantum-Resistant Algorithms: 8(to)7 employs algorithms designed to be resistant to attacks from quantum computers, which pose a significant threat to traditional encryption methods. By using quantum-resistant encryption, Equifax could have ensured that even if attackers gained access to its systems, the data would remain secure and indecipherable.

• End-to-End Encryption: 8(to)7 ensures that data is encrypted at every stage of its lifecycle—from storage to transmission—preventing unauthorized access even if other security layers are compromised.

2. Target: When POS Systems Become Points of Failure

The Breach: In December 2013, Target suffered a data breach that compromised the credit and debit card information of 40 million customers. The breach occurred when attackers managed to install malware on Target’s point-of-sale (POS) systems during the busy holiday shopping season.

Technical Details: The breach was initiated through a third-party vendor, Fazio Mechanical Services, which had poor security practices. The attackers used spear-phishing emails to gain access to Fazio’s network and then moved laterally to infiltrate Target’s network. Once inside, they installed malware known as BlackPOS on the POS terminals. This malware was designed to scrape the RAM of the POS systems, capturing card data as it was swiped.

The attackers exfiltrated the data over a two-week period without detection, sending it to external servers. Target’s failure to adequately segment its network and monitor for unusual activity allowed the attackers to move freely and steal massive amounts of customer data.

Financial Impact: Target incurred over $162 million in breach-related expenses, including legal settlements, fines, and customer compensation. The breach also resulted in a significant loss of customer trust, leading to decreased sales and long-term reputational damage.

How 8(to)7 Could Have Prevented This: Target’s breach highlighted the dangers of weak encryption and inadequate network security. 8(to)7’s comprehensive encryption solution could have protected Target in several ways:

• Encryption of POS Data: 8(to)7 could have encrypted the payment data at the POS level, ensuring that even if attackers managed to scrape the data from the system’s memory, the information would be useless without the decryption key.

• Network Segmentation and Encryption: 8(to)7’s encryption is designed to secure data across different network segments, preventing attackers from moving laterally within the network. Each segment could be individually encrypted with unique keys, making it nearly impossible for attackers to gain access to the broader network.

• Real-Time Encryption and Decryption: With 8(to)7’s advanced cryptographic algorithms, data can be encrypted and decrypted in real-time, ensuring that sensitive information is always protected, whether it is being processed, stored, or transmitted.

3. Yahoo: The Largest Data Breach in History

The Breach: Between 2013 and 2014, Yahoo experienced two of the largest data breaches in history, compromising the personal information of all 3 billion of its user accounts. The breaches were only disclosed in 2016, severely damaging Yahoo’s reputation and leading to significant financial losses.

Technical Details: The Yahoo breaches were facilitated by a combination of spear-phishing attacks and outdated encryption practices. In the first breach, attackers sent spear-phishing emails to Yahoo employees, gaining access to the company’s internal systems. Once inside, they stole a backup copy of Yahoo’s user database, which included hashed passwords. These passwords were hashed using the MD5 algorithm, a cryptographic hashing function that has been known to be weak and vulnerable to collisions and brute-force attacks.

In the second breach, attackers used forged cookies to bypass password authentication. These cookies were generated using stolen Yahoo source code, allowing the attackers to access user accounts without needing the password.

Financial Impact: The breaches led to a $350 million reduction in the acquisition price when Yahoo was sold to Verizon. In addition, Yahoo faced multiple lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, resulting in significant legal and financial costs.

How 8(to)7 Could Have Prevented This: Yahoo’s reliance on outdated encryption methods made it an easy target for attackers. 8(to)7 offers a quantum-resistant solution that would have significantly bolstered Yahoo’s security:

• Advanced Hashing Algorithms: Instead of relying on the outdated MD5 algorithm, 8(to)7 employs quantum-resistant hashing functions that are immune to brute-force attacks and collisions. These hashing algorithms ensure that even if an attacker gains access to the hashed data, it would be computationally infeasible to reverse-engineer the original passwords.

• Secure Authentication Tokens: 8(to)7’s encryption technology could have secured Yahoo’s cookies and authentication tokens, making it impossible for attackers to forge them. This would have prevented the unauthorized access of user accounts, even if the attackers had access to Yahoo’s source code.

• Multi-Layered Encryption: 8(to)7 provides a multi-layered encryption approach that secures data at every point of vulnerability. Whether the data is in transit, at rest, or in use, 8(to)7’s encryption ensures that it remains secure and protected from unauthorized access.

The Technical Superiority of 8(to)7’s Quantum-Resistant Encryption

The 8(to)7 encryption solution is built on a foundation of advanced cryptographic techniques designed to withstand both current and future threats. Here’s what sets 8(to)7 apart:

• NaveoI Standard with 4096-bit Keys till unlimited key seize: 8(to)7 utilizes the NaveoI Standard, which supports 4096-bit encryption keys. This key size is exponentially more secure than the 256-bit encryption used by most organizations today, offering protection against both classical and quantum computing attacks.

• Flexible Key Management: 8(to)7 supports key sizes ranging from 512 bytes to unlimited sizes, providing flexibility based on the level of security required. This flexibility ensures that encryption can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any organization, whether it’s securing financial transactions or protecting user data.

• Post-Quantum Cryptography: 8(to)7 employs algorithms specifically designed to be resistant to quantum computing attacks. This forward-thinking approach ensures that data encrypted today remains secure even as quantum computing becomes more prevalent.

• Seamless Integration: 8(to)7 is designed to be easily integrated into existing systems and products, both in the private and business sectors. Its simple implementation process allows organizations to upgrade their security without significant disruption to their operations.

• End-to-End Security: From the moment data is created to when it is stored or transmitted, 8(to)7 ensures that it is encrypted and protected. This end-to-end approach eliminates weak points where data could potentially be exposed, providing comprehensive security across all stages of data handling.

Conclusion: Safeguarding the Future with 8(to)7

The cases of Equifax, Target, and Yahoo illustrate the severe consequences of inadequate data security. These companies suffered massive financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory penalties—all of which could have been avoided with the implementation of advanced encryption technologies like 8(to)7.

8(to)7’s quantum-resistant encryption provides the highest level of security available today, protecting sensitive data from even the most sophisticated cyberattacks. By adopting 8(to)7, businesses can ensure that their data remains secure, their customers are protected, and their financial stability is maintained.

In an era where data breaches can cost billions, investing in 8(to)7’s cutting-edge encryption technology is not just a smart decision—it’s a necessity for any organization looking to safeguard its future.

There are over 2,200 attacks on businesses globaly each day which breaks down to nearly 1 Cyber-attack every 39 seconds.

Here a just a few of The Biggest Data Breaches of the Year (2024:

AT&T

Records Breached: 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former customers

Hackers breached AT&T’s systems, stealing personal data of current and former customers, including sensitive information like social security numbers, account numbers and passcodes.

AT&T announced that the data set appeared to be from 2019 or earlier and surfaced onto the dark web in mid-March 2024. The data breach is the latest cyberattack AT&T has experienced since a leak in January 2023, that affected nine million users.

AT&T has launched an investigation to stop the spread of malware all while keeping systems up and running for current customers. AT&T is currently facing the threat of multiple class action lawsuits.

MOVEit

Records Breached: 77 million

MOVEit, a Managed File Transfer (MFT) application that provides secure file transfer services used by thousands of organizations and government agencies, was hit with one of the largest breaches in 2023.

The CLOP malware gang was able to exploit a security flaw and deploy ransomware, leaking confidential data of 77 million individuals and over 2,600 companies globally. U.S. companies were hit the hardest – 78% of breached companies – including U.S. Department of Energy, Johns Hopkins, the University System of Georgia, and in Louisiana (LA), the Office of Motor Vehicles announced that anyone with an LA driver’s license or ID card could have had their data stolen in the breach. – CSO online

Total damages globally are upwards of $12 billion.

Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC

Records Breached: 560 million

In May, 2024, over 560 million customer records, including order history, payment information, name, address and email data, were leaked online and offered for sale by hackers who infiltrated Ticketmaster’s systems. The company has sent emails to their customers, advising users to monitor their accounts and credit statements.

The Justice Department is preparing to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster. – The Hill

Tile

Records Breached: 450,000

Life360, the company behind the Tile tracker device, announced that their data base has been breached in June, 2024. Stolen data includes names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and purchase order details. Hackers were also able to access tools that can process location requests by law enforcement and are extorting Life360 for a ransom. – Tech.co

Dell

Records Breached: 49 million

In May 2024, Dell was hit with a massive cyberattack that could affect their 49 million customers. Menelik, the threat actor behind the attack, openly revealed to TechCrunch that he extracted large amounts of data by setting up partner accounts within Dell’s company portal.

After partner accounts were authorized, the hacker launched brute-force attacks, sending over 5,000 requests per minute to the page continuously for nearly three weeks. Astonishingly, Dell remained oblivious to these activities. Following the barrage of nearly 50 million requests and successful data scraping, Menelik proceeded to alert Dell by sending multiple emails about the security vulnerability.

Dell acknowledged that while no financial details were breached, sensitive customer information such as home addresses and order data might have been compromised. Reports indicate that data allegedly sourced from the breach is now available for sale on various hacker forums, suggesting that details belonging to approximately 49 million customers have been obtained.

Bank of America

Records Breached: 57,000

In February 2024, Bank of America reported a ransomware attack targeting Mccamish Systems, one of the bank’s service providers, affecting more than 55,000 customers. According to Forbes, the breach involved unauthorized access to personal details including names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, account numbers and credit card information.

The bank initially detected the breach through routine security monitoring on November 24. However, customers were not notified until February 1, approximately 90 days after the breach was discovered, indicating a violation of federal notification laws.

Solution to Fight Data Breaches

8(to)7’s quantum-resistant encryption, featuring 4096-bit till unlimted keys unlimited key sizes, combined with data compression at high entropy levels, offers unparalleled security.

This advanced protection shields sensitive data from even the most sophisticated cyberattacks.

By implementing 8(to)7, businesses can guarantee the security of their data, safeguard their customers, and maintain their financial stability.