The Top 5 Wildest Hacker Stunts Ever Pulled

Cybercrime encompasses a range of illegal activities involving access to computers and phones, such as sudden phone lockouts or significant data theft from critical organizations like intelligence offices, biometric databases, and municipal authorities. Over the years, this notorious field has seen several stunning cases that have forced victimized organizations to pay hefty ransoms to retrieve their stolen data, preventing its malicious use elsewhere.

Here are five remarkable instances of cybercrime by hackers from Israel and around the globe, with number two being exceptionally unsettling:

1. Beware of Opening Unfamiliar Emails

In 2016, hackers gained control over a computer belonging to an employee at an electric company using ransomware that encrypted computers with especially 'crazy' codes, demanding payment for their release. Initially suspected as an attack on the national power infrastructure, closer inspection revealed that it all started with an email containing a concealed malicious code, which the employee opened unwittingly, making a monumental error.

Fortunately, the network targeted was isolated from the national grid's production and supply systems, and with Hashem's help, the situation was halted in time before causing consumer harm.

2. Invading a Baby Monitor While Parents Unsuspectingly Watch TV

A few years ago, a hacker tapped into a baby monitor in the room of a three-year-old boy, talking with him for hours unbeknownst to his parents, who were in another room at the time. The hacker broke into the device because it had a camera and a microphone controlled remotely. The parents, a couple from California, hadn't considered someone might invade their privacy and had not secured the device with a password.

3. Stealing Money from Bank Accounts

In 2016, a cybercrime gang was uncovered, having stolen tens of thousands of shekels from users accessing their bank accounts with a personal identification code. Hackers executed this crime by spreading emails containing malicious code, which, when opened, introduced malware on the user's computer. This malware stole the user's digital authentication, and instead of performing the desired user actions, the hacker went to an ATM and withdrew cash from the user's account.

4. Stolen Secret Weapon from the NSA

A software package spreading courtesy of hackers calling themselves the Shadow Brokers astonished the global cyber community when it was put up for sale at half a million dollars. What made this software so pricy? It was a top-tier cyber weapon developed by none other than the NSA, capable of breaking into particularly fortified computer systems. Speculation at the time suggested these hackers might be linked to the Russian government, alleged by insiders to lead several global cyberattacks.

5. Yahoo’s Black Market

A list of passwords, usernames, and birthdates of approximately 200 million Yahoo users was posted and offered for sale to the highest bidder by a hacker named Peace. Among the names were Israelis, and the hacker could eventually sell the list for $1,860.