The first month of 2025 seems like a great time to reflect on the lessons the cybersecurity learned from the biggest data breaches of 2024.
Fudo Security published a great read on the topic, summarizing the biggest data breaches of 2024 and analysing the reasons and mistakes leading to them, and most importantly – the lessons learned.
Below we are re-publishing some intriguing highlights. If you are curious to read to whole article, you can do it on Fudo Security’s blog.
“These leaks say a lot about how sophisticated attack tactics and techniques are becoming in bypassing once resilient solutions, how quickly we need to adapt to this by implementing modern security solutions, and how much cost it’s neglecting.
Fudo Security published a great read on the topic, summarizing the biggest data breaches of 2024 and analysing the reasons and mistakes leading to them, and most importantly – the lessons learned.
Join us for an overview of the big data breaches of 2024 and the 10 security lessons they provide, allowing us not to pay the price as other targets have already done.
Mother of All Breaches (MOAB)
In 2024, a breach of unprecedented scale dubbed the Mother of All Breaches (MOAB), exposed 26 billion records, totaling 13 terabytes of data. This dataset, discovered on an unprotected instance, aggregates information from thousands of previous breaches, creating a single repository of compromised data.
The MOAB is not a single-source breach but rather a deliberate compilation of previously leaked datasets, now organized and indexed. This dataset spans over 3,800 folders, with each folder corresponding to a prior breach. Key data types in the MOAB breach:
Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Full names, phone numbers, physical addresses, and other sensitive identity-related information.
Credentials. Email addresses, usernames, and passwords (some plaintext, others hashed).
Financial Records. Bank details, credit card numbers, and transaction logs.
Social Media Profiles. User accounts and associated metadata from platforms like Tencent QQ (1.5 billion records) and Weibo (504 million records).
Government Data. Sensitive records tied to various government entities across the U.S., Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, and Turkey.
The largest source in the dataset is Tencent QQ, followed by records from other major platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace. The dataset’s organization amplifies the risks by combining previously fragmented data into an accessible, comprehensive form.
Why It Happened?
Unsecured Storage Instance. The instance holding 26 billion records lacked basic firewall rules and access restrictions. Without proper authentication controls, unauthorized parties were able to locate and extract the dataset.
Aggregation of Data. The dataset was systematically compiled and indexed from prior breaches, effectively re-aggregating old breaches into a single repository. The reindexing process made the data more searchable, accessible, and exploitable.
Diverse Data Sources. The inclusion of data from personal accounts, financial systems, and government agencies highlights vulnerabilities across multiple sectors and systems. The sheer size and complexity of the MOAB suggest that deliberate efforts were made to consolidate this data for malicious use or resale. By aggregating datasets from various breaches, threat actors created a comprehensive resource for launching sophisticated attacks.
Business Consequences and Response
The MOAB has far-reaching implications for businesses, individuals, and government entities whose data is now part of this breach:
Business Impact. Companies whose data has been re-exposed face renewed reputational damage. Aggregated credentials increase the risk of further credential-stuffing attacks, enabling unauthorized access to systems where passwords are reused.
Operational and Security Risks. The scale and accessibility of the MOAB heighten risks for phishing campaigns, identity theft, and targeted attacks against individuals and organizations.
Response Measures. Affected organizations are working to identify and address exposures within their respective systems.
The MOAB demonstrates the devastating consequences of failing to secure aggregated datasets, particularly in environments where misconfigurations expose sensitive information at scale, and underscores the need for ongoing vigilance in identifying and mitigating the risks stemming from historic data breaches.
Finastra Data Breach: 400GB of Financial Client Data Stolen
On November 7, 2024, Finastra, a major financial technology provider serving over 8,100 financial institutions, identified unauthorized access on its file transfer platform. Within 24 hours, a cybercriminal began selling 400GB of stolen data on underground marketplaces.
The breach impacted critical Finastra systems and exposed:
Sensitive Client Data. Financial transaction details and confidential records belonging to Finastra’s largest banking clients.
Proprietary Internal Documents. Essential to Finastra’s core services and operational infrastructure data.
Finastra confirmed that no malware was deployed during the attack, and the stolen data was not tampered with. However, the unauthorized exfiltration of this volume of data poses significant risks to client confidentiality and operational integrity.
Why It Happened
Continue reading here.
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