The last few years have seen a slew of data breaches-all bad, but some worse than others. In the spirit of learning what not to do by example, eWEEK presents some of the worst data breaches ever. (Unfortunately, this list is likely to be cont
2Worst Data Breaches Ever – Monster.com
Monster.com August 2007 As the result of a security breach at Monster.com job site, the confidential information of some 1.3 million job seekers was stolen and used in a phishing scam. What might be worse is the fact that Monster waited
3Worst Data Breaches Ever – Fidelity National Information Services
July 2007
Fidelity National Information Services
A senior-level employee of a subsidiary of financial processing company Fidelity National Information Services stole 2.3 million consumer records containing credit card, bank account and other p
4Worst Data Breaches Ever – SAIC
July 2007
SAIC
By neglecting to encrypt data sent over the Internet, employees of government contractor Science Applications International Corp. put the sensitive information of more than 800,000 U.S. service members and their families at risk.
5Worst Data Breaches Ever – State of Ohio
June 2007
State of Ohio
A computer storage device containing the names and Social Security numbers of every Ohio state worker was stolen from an intern’s vehicle.
6Worst Data Breaches Ever – Los Angeles County
March 2007
Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department
Several laptops containing personal information-including about 130,500 Social Security numbers-were apparently stolen from the departments office.
7Worst Data Breaches Ever – TJX Companies
December 2006
TJX Companies
During an 18-month period, 45.6 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from one of TJX’s systems.
8Worst Data Breaches Ever – University of California, Los Angeles
December 2006
University of California, Los Angeles
A hacker breached a university-administered database containing personal information on about 800,000 people.
9Worst Data Breaches Ever – U.S. Department of Transportation
August 2006
Miami Office of the U.S. Department of Transportation
As a result of the theft of a U.S. Department of Transportation laptop, personally identifiable information of about 133,000 Florida residents was exposed.
10Worst Data Breaches Ever – AOL
August 2006
AOL
Data on 20 million Web queries, from more than 600,000 users, was posted on a public Web site. Some search records included personal information, such as Social Security numbers.
11Worst Data Breaches Ever – Naval Safety Center
June 2006
Naval Safety Center
Five spreadsheet files with personal data on approximately 28,000 sailors and family members were found on an open Web site.
12Worst Data Breaches Ever – Wells Fargo
May 2006
Wells Fargo
The theft of a laptop exposed the personal information of customers.
13Worst Data Breaches Ever – Department of Veterans Affairs
May 2006
Department of Veterans Affairs
A national database containing sensitive data on about 26.5 million veterans was stolen after an employee brought the data home.
14Worst Data Breaches Ever – Department of Agriculture
February 2006
Department of Agriculture
As a result of hackers illegally accessing a USDA database containing names and Social Security numbers, about 26,000 current and former employees were exposed to identity theft.
15Worst Data Breaches Ever – Boston Globe
January 2006
Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette
The personal information of about 240,000 people who paid for their subscriptions to the Globe and Telegram by credit card or personal check was exposed when that information was print
16Worst Data Breaches Ever – H&R Block
January 2006
H&R Block
Some H&R Block customers’ Social Security numbers were embedded in the tracking code of mailing labels used to send out (unsolicited) tax-prep software.
17Worst Data Breaches Ever – ChoicePoint
September 2005
ChoicePoint
Through what amounted to a social hack, criminals gained access to the systems of database giant ChoicePoint. The data of more than 145,000 people was exposed.
18Worst Data Breaches Ever – LexisNexis
March 2005
LexisNexis
The personal information of about 300,000 was exposed via multiple system hacks of LexisNexis databases.
19Worst Data Breaches Ever – Ameritrade
February 2005
Ameritrade
In transit, a computer backup tape containing the account information of more than 200,000 clients was lost or accidentally destroyed.
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