Biggest Data Breaches of 2024: Emerging Threats, Impact, and Proactive Prevention Strategies

Data breaches are a modern-day nightmare for all types of businesses, particularly for SaaS companies handling sensitive customer information. While it often feels like we’re constantly hearing about “the biggest data breaches in US history,” 2024 truly set the bar for some of the most significant security crises to date. 

Let’s take a closer look at the major data breaches of 2024, the lessons learned, and how your business can proactively protect itself from becoming the next headline.

Emerging Security Threats in Today’s Tech-Driven World

Cybercriminals are becoming both smarter and bolder, and 2024 highlighted just how rapidly the threat landscape is evolving. From sophisticated phishing schemes to exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, malicious actors now use AI tools to mimic human behavior, making attacks more convincing than ever. Ransomware groups have also started targeting smaller SaaS providers, knowing their security defenses may not be as impermeable as larger enterprises. 

Quite simply, if you’re not actively staying ahead of these threats and taking the necessary measures to mitigate the associated risks, you’re falling behind. And what does that mean? It means you’re leaving your business vulnerable.

Biggest Data Breaches of 2024

2024 witnessed some of the biggest and most impactful data breaches to date. If it wasn’t clear before, these crises have further emphasized the growing urgency for businesses to recognize that robust cybersecurity measures are more critical than ever.

Let’s dive into five of the biggest data breaches that occurred globally in 2024:

National Public Data Breach

• Date: April 2024
• Impact: 2.9 billion records
• Details: National Public Data – a consumer data broker specializing in employee background checks – suffered a massive security incident that exposed up to 2.9 billion records containing highly sensitive personal data of approximately 170 million people in the US, UK, and Canada. The compromised information included Social Security numbers, current and past addresses, dates of birth, and phone numbers. The breach was attributed to unauthorized access to their databases, highlighting the critical need for secure access controls and regular security audits. As of October 2024, National Public Data has declared bankruptcy and permanently closed its operations.

Ticketmaster Data Breach

• Date: May 2024
• Impact: 560 million records
• Details: Between April and May 2024, attackers exfiltrated 1.3 terabytes of customer data from Ticketmaster through a cloud database hosted by a third-party data services provider. The breach, which exposed customer names, email addresses, payment details, and purchase histories, went undetected for several weeks, delaying notification to customers until mid-July. This sparked lawsuits and legal action from the U.S. Justice Department against Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation. The incident underscores the necessity of continuous monitoring for threat visibility and timely response, as well as the need for regular employee training and awareness programs to minimize the impact of breaches.

Change Healthcare Breach

• Date: February 2024
• Impact: 145 million records 
• Details: Change Healthcare, a leading provider in healthcare technology, experienced the largest known data breach of protected health information (PHI) to date, affecting over 100 million Americans. The exposed data included Social Security numbers, medical records, insurance information, and financial details. Attackers exploited the absence of multi-factor authentication on a Citrix portal, resulting in cyberattack impacts totaling $2.4 billion, including a $22 million ransomware payment made in exchange for a promise to destroy the stolen healthcare data. Additionally, the breach caused widespread disruptions in processing payments and prescriptions across the US healthcare system. This incident underscores the necessity of comprehensive security measures, such as regular updates and patching.

AT&T Data Breach

• Date: April 2024
• Impact: 110 million records
• Details: The US telecom giant AT&T faced multiple data breaches in 2024, exposing customer contact details and account-related information as a result of vulnerabilities in third-party vendor systems. In its second breach, hackers accessed customer data stored on Snowflake (third-party cloud platform) and stole records from nearly all AT&T cellular and landline customers, including approximate locations, phone numbers, and even data from non-customers. The breach was linked to compromised credentials and insufficient multi-factor authentication measures, highlighting the risk of insider threats and the critical importance of strong authentication protocols.

Dell Data Breach

• Date: August 2024
• Impact: 49 million records 
• Details: Dell Technologies suffered a data breach in which unauthorized individuals accessed sensitive customer information, including contact details, purchase histories, and support tickets, after gaining access to a client portal through one of Dell’s resellers. The breach was attributed to vulnerabilities in the platform, specifically weak API security. Over the course of nearly three weeks, the attacker sent over 5,000 login requests per minute, totaling almost 50 million attempts. Despite this prolonged and suspicious activity, Dell’s systems failed to detect the breach. It was only after the attacker sent multiple emails to Dell highlighting the security vulnerability that the company became aware of the issue. This incident stresses the importance of regular system updates, continuous monitoring, and thorough vulnerability assessments.

The Impact of Major Data Breaches

The financial, reputational, and operational toll of these breaches is staggering, as evidenced by the Change Healthcare breach, which resulted in significant regulatory penalties and widespread disruptions across the U.S. healthcare system. Beyond the financial impact, the emotional toll on customers whose data is exposed cannot be overstated. When users encounter phrases like “biggest data breaches in billions stolen” or “biggest data breaches in stolen records,” and your company happens to be part of that list, trust erodes rapidly.

For SaaS companies, breaches not only lead to direct costs like fines and lawsuits but also cause long-term damage to customer trust. The $4.88 million figure quoted in the 2024 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report highlights the wide-reaching consequences:

• Financial losses: Companies face direct costs like forensic investigations, alongside regulatory fines (e.g., HIPAA violations) and legal settlements, such as Capital One’s $190 million payout following a 2019 breach.
• Reputational damage: Publicity surrounding a breach can erode customer trust and brand loyalty. Publicly traded companies often experience a drop in stock prices following a breach, further amplifying the total losses incurred.
• Operational disruption: Downtime during investigations and remediation efforts interferes with productivity, while inadequate backup systems can result in permanent data loss.
• Intellectual property loss: Stolen trade secrets can lead to competitive disadvantages.
• Loss of Customers and Partners: A tarnished reputation drives customers, stakeholders, and partners to reconsider their relationships, leading to lost revenue as well as weakened supply chains.
• Identity theft and personal risk: Individuals bear the brunt of exposed personal information, often facing identity theft, financial fraud, or emotional distress.
• Regulatory scrutiny and compliance costs: Post-breach examinations often lead to increased oversight, requiring organizations to implement stricter security measures to demonstrate compliance with key security and privacy compliance frameworks.

Common Vulnerabilities Exploited in 2024

The data breaches of 2024 have highlighted critical vulnerabilities that attackers continue to exploit. From weak encryption to insider threats, each incident provides valuable lessons on how businesses can strengthen their defenses and avoid becoming the next victim.

• Inadequate Encryption: The National Public Data Breach exposed the risks of weak encryption, leading to the massive exposure of sensitive information.
• Insider Threats and Access Controls: AT&T’s breach showcased the dangers of insufficient access management and the importance of addressing insider threats and vendor risks.
• Outdated Software: Change Healthcare’s incident revealed how outdated software and missing patches can provide easy entry points for attackers.
• Weak API Security: Dell’s breach demonstrated the consequences of leaving APIs unprotected, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive customer data.
• Phishing and Social Engineering: Ticketmaster’s breach emphasized the continued effectiveness of phishing campaigns, which exploit human error to gain access, as well as the necessity for regular security awareness training.

By understanding these vulnerabilities, your business can take targeted steps to protect your organization and enhance your security posture.

Proactive Strategies to Prevent Data Breaches 

The key lesson from 2024 is clear: prevention is better than cure. Businesses that proactively address vulnerabilities by implementing measures such as encryption and multi-factor authentication not only protect their data but also safeguard their reputation. 

So, how can your business stay ahead and avoid becoming a cautionary tale?

• Simplify Compliance: Use platforms like Scytale to streamline compliance efforts with key frameworks like NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR, ensuring you stay ahead of compliance and data privacy requirements while saving valuable time and resources along the way.
• Invest in Employee Training: Educate your team on spotting phishing attempts and following information security best practices. Employees trained in recognizing social engineering attacks are your first line of defense.
• Conduct Routine Security Audits: Regular penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and continuous controls monitoring can aid in identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
• Automate Security Monitoring: Use tools that provide real-time alerts for suspicious activity, enabling quick responses to potential threats. Automated monitoring also eases the burden on your team.
• Strengthen Access Controls: Implement proper user access controls to secure APIs and cloud configurations. Regularly scan for misconfigurations, enforce least-privilege access, and promptly patch vulnerabilities to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive data.
• Develop an Incident Response Plan: Prepare a clear and tested response plan for data breaches to minimize damage and recover as quickly as possible.

By learning from the mistakes of other businesses and implementing these proactive measures, your organization can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to the next high-profile data breach.

Stay Compliant, Stay Protected

The biggest data breaches of 2024 serve as a powerful reminder: no business, regardless of size, is immune to security threats. To prevent sensitive data from being leaked or falling into the wrong hands, companies must prioritize compliance and maintain it consistently. Compliance with frameworks like SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR serves as a critical defense against breaches that could compromise your customers’ data and the reputation your business has worked so hard to build.

That’s where Scytale makes all the difference. Our compliance automation platform, supported by a dedicated team of compliance experts, simplifies the entire process. With AI-driven tools and automated features to streamline evidence collection, risk assessments, vendor risk management, and audit management, Scytale takes the complexity out of staying compliant. By automating workflows, you not only save time but also ensure your business is always audit-ready.

The increasing number of security threats is enough to make anyone start panicking, but staying proactive is essential. By investing in effective security practices, leveraging automation, and committing to compliance, your business can stay one step ahead of hackers and focus on delivering value to your customers.

After all, staying compliant means staying secure.