When we think of security breaches, the first thing that often comes to mind is modern hacking scandals like the iCloud security fiasco resulting in thousands of leaked celebrity photos, or the invasion of Sony’s network and subsequent release of all their internal e-mails. The reality, though, is that security breaches have been going on for a very long time.
Let’s take a stroll back in time and learn about some of the world’s most shocking security breaches through the lens of history. We’ll discuss what went wrong, what could have been done, and how security was forever changed.
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand met a rather untimely demise back in the day, as there were six Bosnian Serbs trying to get him murdered. The plan was rather sophisticated, which goes to show just how efficient a criminal thought process could be. Only two shots were fired from Gavrillo Pricip, both of which fatally wounded Franz Ferdinand and his partner (wife) Sophie. The aftermath was a horrendous one, and proper security protocol could have easily done away with this event altogether.
D.B. Cooper
This is a very crazy event to take into account, but it most definitely happened! D.B. Cooper attempted to hijack a plane back in 1971 (November 24th, to be exact), and demanded that he was given $200,000, four parachutes and a fuel truck on the tarmac (in order to refuel the plane when they landed). After landing and letting the flight attendants off (as well as passengers), D.B. Cooper told them to get back in the air and head towards Mexico. Everybody stayed in the cockpit throughout the flight, and when they landed, D.B. Was nowhere to be found. This mystery remains unsolved to this very day, whereas the right security equipment would have probably caught him red-handed! Either that, or D.B. Cooper is just a ghost.
Massacre in Munich
During the 1972 Olympics, 8 Palestinian extremists camouflaged themselves as athletes and snuck their way into the games. From there, they took the Israeli team hostage and proceeded to murder an abundance of them. This is all due to the fact that Germany had lackluster checkpoints and security at those games, which goes to show just how important a well-thought out security plan could be.
An Extended Look at Historical Security Breaches
Though the events I mentioned are legendary, they’re but a small sampling of the many security breaches through history. Below you’ll find an infographic from 1st Ace Security that covers a great many more in depth.
