Computer hackers go out of their way to provoke chaos. They know the money it costs to repair the breach, restore the system and conduct damage control will send companies reeling.

The considerable price of restoring a system and settling the damage from a breach makes data security vital. The products at WinMagic make it extremely difficult for your data to be accessed. What are the risks of not employing up-to-date data security?

To illustrate, the following are some of the costliest hacks of all time.

Sony Gets Taken—Twice

Sony has been a primary target for hackers, as it was the target of a hack late in 2014 that exposed company data, films and emails. The comprehensive nature of the hack caused the company to pull its release of “The Interview” from theaters. Estimates of the cost of this hack vary, though Reuters estimated that it would cost over $100 million.

While that hack got considerable publicity, it wasn’t the only time Sony was compromised. Sony’s PlayStation Network was hacked in April 2011, causing the company to take its video gaming network offline for a month. Over 77 million accounts were exposed. Coupled with the lost revenue from the downtime, that hack cost Sony $170 million.

TJX loses $256 Million

Perhaps the costliest hack came in 2006, when a group of 11 hackers, led by Albert Gonzalez, hacked TJX Companies; a conglomerate that includes:

• Marshalls
• TJ Maxx
• HomeSense
• Winners

Gonzalez’s group got access to information on 94 million customers, including 46 million credit card accounts, leading to a $256 million tab.

Gonzalez also masterminded the Heartland Payment Systems hack in 2008, which exposed the credit and payment information of 130 million customers. He was caught for that hack, which cost Heartland $110 million. Gonzalez is now serving 40 years in prison.

Target Gets Compromised

The retail giant Target saw its computer and data systems breached in 2013, costing the company $148 million and financial institutions nearly $200 million from issuing new credit and debit cards to compromised customers. The Target hack also cost the company’s CEO and chief security officer their jobs.

What Have We Learned?

If giant companies like Sony, TJX, Heartland and Target can get hacked, no company is beyond reach. That’s why investing in data security is important. WinMagic has the products and knowledge to keep your business safe from cyber intrusions. Contact us for more information and read up on our company today.