During the summer, i.e., March 2024, I was working relentlessly to create videos for my YouTube and Instagram handles. They are brand new. I neither had experience creating videos nor publishing them in the past. However, I kept my focus on technology related news, and updates. While I was searching for topics on Google Trends, I found 2 trending topics that are very similar.
- AT&T Outage.
- Facebook & Instagram Outages.
Since the outage is common in both, I confined to one topic for the time being: Facebook and Instagram outages. I also felt there is a good chance that the audience might resonate with the topic because they just experienced the problem.
Meta Outages:
On March 5th, 2024, meta platforms Facebook and Instagram have stopped working.
Users couldn’t scroll through the feeds, some experienced blank pages. In some cases, most of the user accounts were logged out automatically. People started changing their passwords to restore their accounts, assuming it was a cyber-attack.
According to Down Detector, 3,00,000 Facebook outages and 20,000 Instagram outages are reported.
I still remember that day because people expressed their joy on both the platforms once they were able to access their accounts. One user wrote, “Hello friends! Finally, I can see everything working as usual. Thankful!!”. This instance shows that people are emotionally attached to social media, especially the younger generation. The way they expressed their emotions felt as if they had escaped from the biggest threat to mankind.
AT&T Outage:
Later, I explored AT&T outage topic as well, which only blew my mind. AT&T is a telecommunications and wireless carrier based in the United States.
In February 2024, AT&T experienced the largest outage issue, which lasted for 12 long hours. Typically, outages occur due to software or hardware errors or network related issues. However, they are resolved quickly. But this time it lasted for 12 hours, making it difficult for customers to make phone calls or send text messages.
The biggest news came later in March 2024 when AT&T admitted that the data of 73 million users had been hacked. They said the data set that consists of 73 million, including current and former account holders’ information, has been leaked on the dark web.
Dark web is a form of deep web, a hidden part of the internet that cannot be indexed by regular search engines. Also, your identity is not revealed on the dark web. A user can log in and operate anonymously, and the details cannot be traced.
The scary part is that the dark web cannot be accessed by regular browsers and search engines. They have separate browsers. According to resources, dark web is being used for cyber hacks, ransomware attacks, and illegal transactions.
73 million users’ data consist of personal information like phone numbers, email ids, and social security numbers. AT&T has begun an investigation with the help of internal and external cyber security experts. As of now, there are no updates available.
This incident so far marked as the biggest data breach in 2024.
AI for Cybersecurity
British mathematician Clive Humby once said that “data is the new oil,” emphasizing the importance of data, which can drive the economy and also bring money to businesses and organizations. 73 million is a humongous data. But it is important to know who is using our data and what purposes they are using it for.
Data breaches in big companies like AT&T not only raise the security concerns but also lead to the loss of trust.
Now, we have witnessed a huge shift in the technology, i.e., artificial intelligence. AI has revolutionized systems and processes, as well as the way businesses operate today. AI is considered as a solution for cyberattacks in various discussions.
The concepts like AI security, AI in cyber security, and threat detection are gaining more traction these days due to the vulnerabilities in the digital landscape.
Can AI emerge as a permanent solution for cyber-attacks and data breaches?
To know more about the role of AI in cybersecurity, read https://tekleaders.com/services/cyber-security/
