Pavan Reddy Vaka

Abstract

The Equifax data breach and the WannaCry ransomware attack represent two of the most significant cybersecurity incidents of recent years. In Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting agencies in the world, suffered a massive breach that exposed the personal data of approximately 147 million individuals. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the Apache Struts web application framework, which had not been patched despite a publicly available fix. The breach raised critical concerns about data security, third-party risk, and the responsibility of organizations to safeguard sensitive information. Simultaneously, the WannaCry ransomware attack, which spread globally in May 2017, encrypted users' data and demanded ransom payments. This attack exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, which had been disclosed by the National Security Agency (NSA) before being leaked by hackers. Both incidents highlight the evolving nature of cyber threats and the vulnerabilities within criti