"The Worst Hacks of 2021"
WIRED has highlighted the worst hacks of 2021, including breaches, leaks, data exposures, ransomware attacks, state-sponsored hacking campaigns, and more. The first incident spotlighted is the ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline in early May, which led to increases in gas prices, panic buying, and localized fuel shortages. The attack forced the company to shut down different portions of the pipeline in order to contain the malware. The Russia-linked ransomware gang DarkSide was identified as the perpetrator of the attack on Colonial Pipeline. This incident brought further attention to how dangerous the disruption of the petrochemical pipeline industry could be. This article continues to discuss the ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, SolarWinds hacking spree, Twitch breach, exploitation of vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Exchange Server software, ransomware attack suffered by the world's largest meat processing company, and other notable incidents of the year.