**The Worst Data Breaches of 2025: A Year of Hacking Horror**

The world of cybersecurity has been plagued by a series of high-profile data breaches in 2025, leaving millions of people's sensitive information exposed to the public. From government agencies to private companies, no one was spared from the wrath of hackers and cyber-attackers.

**The U.S. Federal Government: A Repeated Target**

The U.S. federal government was breached multiple times in 2025, with Chinese hackers launching a brazen attack on the U.S. Treasury at the start of the year. The breach was just one of several that targeted various federal agencies, including the agency responsible for safeguarding U.S. nuclear weapons due to a SharePoint security flaw.

But it was not until the rise of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), led by Elon Musk and his team of private sector experts, that the federal government faced its biggest data breach in history. Despite warnings of national security risks and conflicts of interest over Musk's overseas business dealings, DOGE staffers ransacked federal databases containing citizens' data.

DOGE's actions sparked a firestorm of controversy, with legal experts claiming that the staffers are "personally liable" under U.S. hacking laws. Musk's departure from DOGE only added to the chaos, leaving his former colleagues fearing they could face federal charges without his protection.

**Ransomware and Extortion: The Rise of Clop**

Late last year, dozens of companies whose Oracle E-Business servers were breached received threatening emails from the prolific ransomware and extortion group Clop. The hackers demanded several million dollars in exchange for not publishing sensitive employee data, which they had stolen using a never-before-seen vulnerability in Oracle's software.

It was only when Oracle scrambled to patch the vulnerability that it became aware of the breach, but by then, the damage was done. Dozens of organizations, including universities, hospitals and health systems, media organizations, and more, had their sensitive employee data stolen.

**The Salesforce Breach: A Billion Records Stolen**

Two separate data breaches at downstream tech companies allowed hackers to steal a billion records of customer data stored in Salesforce's cloud. The hackers targeted at least two companies, Salesloft and Gainsight, which allow their customers to handle and analyze the data stored in Salesforce.

The breach was carried out by a hacking collective known as Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, made up of members from different hacking groups, including ShinyHunters. The group published a data leak site advertising the stolen records in exchange for a ransom paid by the victims.

**The U.K. Retail Sector: A Major Cyberattack**

Hackers tore through the U.K. retail sector earlier this year, stealing data from Marks & Spencer and at least 6.5 million customer records from the Co-op. The back-to-back hacks sparked outages and disruption across the retailers' networks, with some grocery shelves going empty as the systems used to support the retailers were knocked out.

A major cyberattack targeting Jaguar Land Rover left a dent in the U.K. economy, with the company's car plant stalling production for months. The fallout affected JLR's suppliers across the U.K., some of whom went out of business altogether. A bailout worth £1.5 billion was guaranteed by the U.K. government to ensure Jaguar Land Rover employees and suppliers got paid during the shutdown.

**South Korea: Months of Hacks and Data Breaches**

South Korea experienced a major data breach every month this year, with the personal data of millions of its citizens compromised thanks to security lapses and shoddy data practices at the country's biggest tech and phone providers.

The country's largest phone company, SK Telecom, was hacked and 23 million customer records were exposed; several cyberattacks were attributed to North Korea; and a massive data center fire wiped out years of Korean government data that wasn't backed up. The cherry on top was the months-long theft of some 33 million customers' personal information from Coupang, the country's retail giant.

**The Takeaway: Cybersecurity Must Be a Priority**

The worst data breaches of 2025 serve as a stark reminder of the importance of cybersecurity in today's digital age. As technology continues to advance and more sensitive information is stored online, it is imperative that companies and governments take concrete steps to protect themselves from cyber threats.

From patching vulnerabilities to implementing robust security protocols, there are many measures that can be taken to prevent data breaches. The question is: will we learn from the past and prioritize cybersecurity in 2026, or will we continue down a path of hacking horror shows?