The threat of cyberattacks continues to loom large around the globe in 2024. From phishing scams looking to snare unsuspecting users to massive ransomware attacks on major companies, we all have to remain vigilant.
But throughout the first two decades of the 21st century, British companies and institutions have already been subject to damaging data breaches. It includes attacks on airlines, health care providers and even a library.
We have taken a look through the biggest cyberattacks in Britain in the last 15 years. See the timeline in our gallery below - it is in chronological order.
We have taken a look through the biggest cyberattacks in Britain in the last 15 years. See the timeline in our gallery below - it is in chronological order.
9. British Airways (2018)
The airline was subject to a massive data breach in the summer of 2018 which affected almost 500,000 customers. Around half of these (almost 250,000) had credit card details stolen. A subsequent investigation found that sufficient security measures, such as multi-factor authentication, was not in place at the time. The Information Commissioner’s Office fined them £20 million over the breach in 2020. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images | ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
10. EasyJet hack (2020)
Popular airline EasyJet was hit by a massive hack which saw data from nine million people stolen in a “highly-sophisticated cyber-attack” in 2020. Most of the stolen data was email addresses and travel details, however credit and debit card details from 2,208 customers were “accessed”. The Information Commissioner’s Office launched an investigation but dropped it in 2023 due to a lack of resources. Photo: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images | PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images Photo: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images
11. Virgin Media (2020)
The personal data of 900,000 customers was breached with email addresses, names, and phone numbers of affected users exposed. Fortunately customer passwords were not compromised. The breach was not due to a cyberattack or hack but because of a poorly-configured database. Photo: ANDREW COWIE/AFP via Getty Images | ANDREW COWIE/AFP via Getty Images Photo: ANDREW COWIE/AFP via Getty Images
12. British Library (2023)
The British Library was the victim of a ransomware attack by the notorious hacker group Rhysida in October 2023. Around 573GB of employees’ personal data has been auctioned by the group and many of the British Library’s core systems have been rendered unusable for months after the hackers demanded a ransom of 20 bitcoin - which is worth over £1m in pound sterling. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images | Leon Neal/Getty Images Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images