Editing Black hat (computer security) (section)

== History ==
[[File:Countries initially affected in WannaCry ransomware attack.svg|thumb|Countries initially affected by the WannaCry ransomware attack]]
One of the earliest and most notorious black hat hacks was the 1979 hacking of The Ark by [[Kevin Mitnick]]. The Ark computer system was used by [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC) to develop the [[RSTS/E]] operating system software.

The [[WannaCry ransomware attack|WannaCry ransomware]] attack in May 2017 is another example of black hat hacking. Around 400,000 computers in 150 countries were infected within two weeks. The creation of decryption tools by security experts within days limited the extortion payments to approximately $120,000, or slightly more than 1% of the potential payout.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-09 |title=What is WannaCry ransomware? |url=https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/ransomware-wannacry |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=www.kaspersky.com |language=en}}</ref>

The notable [[data breach]]es typically published by major news services are the work of black hat hackers. In a data breach, hackers can steal the financial, personal, or digital information of customers, patients, and constituents. The hackers can then use this information to smear a business or government agency, sell it on the dark web, or extort money from businesses, government agencies, or individuals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Espinosa |first=Christian |date=2018-03-09 |title=Black Hat vs White Hat Hackers |url=https://www.alpinesecurity.com/blog/black-hat-vs-white-hat-hackers/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Alpine Security |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[United States]] experienced a record number of 1,862 data breaches in 2021, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center's 2021 Data Breach Report. Data breaches have been on the rise for some time{{Clarify timeframe|date=December 2022}}. From 2013 to 2014, black hat hackers broke into [[Yahoo!|Yahoo]] and stole 3 billion customer records, making it possibly the largest data breach ever.<ref name=":3" /> In addition, the adult website [[Adult FriendFinder]] was hacked in October 2016, and over 412 million customer records were taken.<ref name=":3" /> A data breach that occurred between May and July 2017 exposed more than 145 million customer records, making the national credit bureau [[Equifax]] another victim of black hat hacking.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Biggest Data Breaches in US History [Updated 2022] {{!}} UpGuard |url=https://www.upguard.com/blog/biggest-data-breaches-us |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=www.upguard.com |language=en}}</ref>