We all know that data breach is a major issue that can cause devastating damage to organizations and individuals, but have you ever wondered what happens to the data that is stolen during these incidents?
It depends on the importance of the stolen data and the attackers behind a data breach, and why they’ve stolen a certain type of data. For instance, when threat actors are motivated to embarrass a person or organization, expose perceived wrongdoing or improve cybersecurity, they tend to release relevant data into the public domain.
To prove this, the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014 is the biggest example for the readers. Attackers backed by North Korea stole Sony Pictures Entertainment employee data such as Social Security numbers, financial records, and salary information, as well as emails of top executives. The hackers then published the emails to embarrass the company, possibly in retribution for releasing a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un.
According to Verizon’s annual data breach report, nearly 86% of data breaches are about money, and 55% are committed by organized criminal groups. Stolen data often ends up being sold online on the dark web. For example, in 2018 hackers offered for sale more than 200 million records containing the personal information of Chinese individuals. This included information on 130 million customers of the Chinese hotel chain Huazhu Hotels Group.
The most reliable and common way to pay for the transaction is with cryptocurrency or via Western Union. The price varies on the type of data, its demand, and its supply. For example, a big surplus of stolen personally identifiable information caused its pri ..
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