Visualizing The 50 Biggest Data Breaches From 2004–2021
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Visualizing The 50 Biggest Data Breaches From 2004–2021

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This graphic visualizes the 50 largest data breaches, by entity and sector, since 2004.

Visualizing The 50 Biggest Data Breaches From 2004–2021

As our world has become increasingly reliant on technology and data stored online, data breaches have become an omnipresent threat to users, businesses, and government agencies. In 2021, a new record was set with more than 5.9 billion user records stolen.

This graphic by Chimdi Nwosu visualizes the 50 largest data breaches since 2004, along with the sectors most impacted. Data was aggregated from company statements and news reports.

Understanding the Basics of Data Breaches

A data breach is an incident in which sensitive or confidential information is copied, transmitted or stolen by an unauthorized entity. This can occur as a result of malware attacks, payment card fraud, insider leaks, or unintended disclosure.

The targeted data is often customer PII (personally identifiable information), employee PII, intellectual property, corporate data or government agency data.

Date breaches can be perpetrated by lone hackers, organized cybercrime groups, or even national governments. Stolen information can then be used in other criminal enterprises such as identity theft, credit card fraud, or held for ransom payment.

Notable Data Breaches Since 2004

The largest data breach recorded occurred in 2013 when all three billion Yahoo accounts had their information compromised. In that cyberattack, the hackers were able to gather the personal information and passwords of users. While the full extent of the Yahoo data breach is still not fully realized, subsequent cybercrimes across the globe have been linked to the stolen information.

Here are the 50 largest data breaches by amount of user records stolen from 2004–2021.

RankEntitySectorRecords CompromisedYear
1YahooWeb3.0B2013
2River City MediaWeb1.4B2017
3AadhaarGovernment1.1B2018
4First American CorporationFinance885M2019
5SpambotWeb711M2017
6LinkedinWeb700M2021
7FacebookTech533M2021
8YahooWeb500M2014
9Marriott InternationalRetail500M2018
10SyniverseTelecoms500M2021
11FacebookWeb419M2019
12Friend Finder NetworkWeb412M2016
13OxyDataTech380M2019
14MySpaceWeb360M2016
15ExactisData340M2018
16TwitterTech330M2018
17AirtelTelecoms320M2019
18Indian citizensWeb275M2019
19WattpadWeb270M2020
20MicrosoftWeb250M2019
21Experian BrazilFinance220M2021
22Chinese resume leakWeb202M2019
23Court VenturesFinance200M2013
24ApolloTech200M2018
25Deep Root AnalyticsWeb198M2015
26ZyngaGaming173M2019
27VKWeb171M2016
28EquifaxFinance163M2017
29DubsmashWeb162M2019
30Massive American business hackFinance160M2013
31MyFitnessPalApp150M2018
32EbayWeb145M2014
33CanvaWeb139M2019
34HeartlandFinance130M2009
35NametestsApp120M2018
36TetradFinance120M2020
37LinkedInWeb117M2016
38Pakistani mobile operatorsTelecoms115M2020
39ElasticSearchTech108M2019
40Capital OneFinance106M2019
41Thailand visitorsGovernment106M2021
42FirebaseApp100M2018
43QuoraWeb100M2018
44Rambler.ruWeb98M2012
45TK / TJ MaxxRetail94M2007
46MyHeritageWeb92M2018
47AOLWeb92M2004
48DailymotionWeb85M2016
49AnthemHealth80M2015
50Sony Playstation NetworkGaming77M2011

The massive Yahoo hack accounted for roughly 30% of the 9.9 billion user records stolen from the Web sector—by far the most impacted sector. The next most-impacted sectors were Tech and Finance, with 2 billion and 1.6 billion records stolen, respectively.

Although these three sectors had the highest totals of user data lost, that doesn’t necessarily imply they have weaker security measures. Instead, it can probably be attributed to the sheer number of user records they compile.

Not all infamous data breaches are of a large scale. A smaller data breach in 2014 made headlines when Apple’s iCloud was hacked and the personal pictures of roughly 200 celebrities were disseminated across the internet. Although this highly targeted hack only affected a few hundred people, it highlighted how invasive and damaging data breaches can be to users.

The Cost of Data Breaches to Businesses

Every year data breaches cost businesses billions of dollars to prevent and contain, while also eroding consumer trust and potentially having an adverse effect on customer retention.

A 2021 IBM security report estimated that the average cost per data breach for companies in 2020 was $4.2 million, which represents a 10% increase from 2019. That increase is mainly attributed to the added security risk associated with having more people working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Measures to Improve Data Security

Completely preventing data breaches is essentially impossible, as cybercrime enterprises are often persistent, dynamic, and sophisticated. Nevertheless, businesses can seek out innovative methods to prevent exposure of data and mitigate potential damages.

For example, after the iCloud attack in 2014, Apple began avidly encouraging users to adopt two-factor authentication in an effort to strengthen data security.

Regardless of the measures businesses take, the unfortunate reality is that data breaches are a cost of doing business in the modern world and will continue to be a concern to both companies and users.

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Ranked: Which Jobs Are Safest from AI?

AI continues to disrupt workplaces, but not all jobs are equally at risk.

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Graphic showing the jobs that are the safest from AI

Ranked: Which Jobs Are Safest from AI?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Public-facing jobs are safest. Roles like emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and social workers have low automation risk due to constant human interaction.
  • Management roles are resilient. Jobs involving leadership and decision-making remain harder to automate.
  • Skilled trades remain strong. Physical, hands-on work is less vulnerable to artificial intelligence.

AI continues to disrupt workplaces, but not all jobs are equally at risk. This infographic ranks the occupations least likely to be automated, based on public interaction, task complexity, and human judgment.

From EMTs to HR managers, the most resilient jobs typically involve interpersonal engagement, leadership, or hands-on technical skills that are difficult to replicate with AI systems.

The data for this visualization comes from Esquimoz. It analyzes a blend of automation risk scores and the necessity for public interaction to determine which jobs are safest from artificial intelligence.

Human Interaction Protects Emergency Roles

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and healthcare social workers top the list, with 100% public interaction and very low automation risk. These roles require on-the-spot decisions, emotional intelligence, and real-time responsiveness, traits that AI still struggles to match.

OccupationPublic interaction (%)Automation RiskScore
Emergency medical technicians100%7%100
Healthcare social workers100%11%98
Lawyers100%29%86
Medical & health services managers90%26%82
First-line supervisors of construction trades & extraction workers79%17%80
HR managers83%26%78
General & operations managers80%36%70
Maintenance & repair workers72%35%65
First-line supervisors of administrative support workers82%50%62
Training & development specialists58%29%60

Managers Remain Hard to Replace

Leadership positions such as HR managers, operations managers, and construction supervisors rank highly due to their reliance on judgment, strategy, and team coordination. While some managerial tasks can be automated, the core human element remains essential.

Skilled Trades Show Resilience

Jobs like maintenance and repair workers and construction supervisors continue to resist automation due to their physical and situational demands. These professions often involve complex, variable environments that AI has yet to master.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out ChatGPT’s Rising Traffic vs. Popular Websites on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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