Mass download cyberattacks are those that manage to infiltrate, without permission, the systems of a company or public organization and extract large amounts of private data and information.
That’s why it is essential to protect against potential cyberattacks by training your employees or implementing specific cybersecurity strategies and tools to safeguard one of your most valuable assets, your information.
Consequences of suffering a mass information download cyberattack
- Brand image: A cyberattack severely impacts the trust that customers and partners have in the company. The loss of data could generate bad press and make customers perceive the company as unsafe, affecting its public image and customer loyalty.
- Loss of sensitive information: If sensitive data is extracted, such as customer, employee, intellectual property, or trade secrets. Furthermore, this information could end up in the hands of competitors or be sold on the black market, with the legal consequences stemming from such a loss of information.
- Productivity halt: Responding to an attack of this nature can disrupt the company's operations, especially if critical systems need to be disconnected or new security measures must be implemented.
- Economic losses: In addition to the loss of customers due to the cyberattack and the lack of trust, the affected company may face an economic fine from the relevant authorities.
Regarding this point, it was recently made public that the Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) intends to open an investigation into the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona for the significant data breach it suffered last year. A breach of nearly 4.5 TB in which the personal information of patients from one of the largest hospitals in Barcelona was made public.
Real cases of mass download cyberattacks
- May 2024, Banco Santander. In mid-2024, Banco Santander experienced unauthorized access by a third party, resulting in the leak of names, addresses, and dates of birth of all employees and customers in Spain, Uruguay, and Chile. To understand the significance of this cyberattack, it’s worth noting that Banco Santander employs over 210,000 people.
- May 2024, Telefónica. Although the attack occurred in March, it was revealed a couple of months later that Telefónica suffered a cyberattack that exposed the data of more than 120,000 customers. However, sensitive information such as banking details or access credentials was not made public.
- May 2024, Iberdrola. Closing out May, Iberdrola faced a cyberattack that published the data of over 850,000 of its energy customers. While banking information was not compromised, names and national ID numbers were exposed.
- September 2024, Tendam. Tendam, the textile company behind brands like Cortefiel, Pedro del Hierro, and Women’secret, suffered a data breach last September, resulting in the theft of almost 1 TB of company data.
How to prevent these types of cyberattacks
One of the main ways to prevent these types of cyberattacks is through training employees, both permanent and temporary staff, and implementing specific cybersecurity strategies and tools.
- WWatcher is a specialized cybersecurity tool designed to prevent data theft and mass downloads of internal files. It protects your internal and private information from unauthorized third parties.
- WWatcher allows you to limit the volume of files a user can download in a day, based on their role and activity within the company. This prevents unauthorized users from downloading sensitive and confidential internal information in bulk in case of account or password theft.
- ESED Attack is ESED's ethical hacking technique. It involves launching controlled cyberattacks to identify weak points in a company's infrastructure. These attacks are harmless and executed in a controlled manner using an orchestrator agent installed on the machines where the tests are conducted.
By implementing these tools and raising employee awareness about the importance of cybersecurity for the company, organizations can prevent mass download cyberattacks that can severely harm businesses and critical public entities.
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