July 2022 - upGrad Campus

3 Business Analytics Tools You Need in Your First Job

Posted on July 29, 2022April 3, 2023 by kiruthika

If you’ve started or are planning to start a career in Business Analytics, let us give you a fair warning. It can get pretty overwhelming quickly. There are large chunks of data to go through in very little time, and watching your peers accomplish it in seconds can lead to a whole new level of FOMO.

So here’s our suggestion.

Why not pick up these top 3 Business Analytics tools for freshers? They’re easy to learn, used in practically every organisation and are sure to give you an edge over others.

Microsoft Excel for data anaysis

Ouch! We apologise for the oldest Excel joke in the book. And we’re sure you must also be laughing at the suggestion of learning Excel because it can look and feel very basic.

But don’t get fooled by its easy interface. Excel is a powerhouse of features that allows you to:

Collect data
Perform statistical analysis
Make complex reports
Integrate with other Business Intelligence tools like Power BI

In fact, its user-friendly interface is what has made Excel the most preferred Business Analytics tool in all organisations. If you’re not familiar with some of the more analytical features of Excel, we recommend you start exploring these functionalities as a starting point:

Text to Column
As a future Business Analyst, you should know that you will not always have the luxury of getting your data in nice little columns as you’d like. More often than not, the data will be mixed up and you may have to separate them. For example, you may need to split customers’ full names into their first names and last names or separate out the year from the date of birth. In such cases, you can simply select the column, select Data >> Text to Column and specify the delimiter. (In names, first name and last name are separated by space, so the delimiter is space. The different parts of the date, like 27/07/2015, are separated by /. So the delimiter, in this case, is ‘/’)
Concatenate
A near opposite to the Text to Column, the concatenate feature of Excel allows you to combine two columns into one – for example, a column containing the first name and another column containing the last name can be concatenated automatically into a new column with the full name.
Sorting & Filtering
The sort and filter functions are going to be your handy assistants in the years to come. As a Business Analytics professional, you will constantly have to sort data in a particular order or filter out certain conditions, like regions, age groups, etc. and Excel allows you to perform these functions with ease.
VLookup
Vertical Lookup, more commonly known as VLookup, is another useful feature in Excel that enables users to find specific values in columns. Vlookup is beneficial in creating reports as it helps with combining data from two different spreadsheets into one.
Pivot Tables
Pivot tables allow you to create specific, condition-based summaries easily. For example, from your inventory records, if you want to analyse your consumer’s top 3 product buys in metro cities, you don’t have to manually segregate the data. You can simply apply a pivot table to the range of the data and you’ll get the results. What’s more, you can also convert it into a Pivot Chart to get a visual representation of the data for the purpose of presenting.

These are just some of the everyday yet powerful features of Excel. As you get deeper into it, you will find more functionalities that will help you in your day-to-day job. Excel, by itself, is great. But when Excel is combined with other tools, the world is your oyster!

Visualise with Tableau

The axiom “a picture is worth a thousand words” will soon become your favourite as you’ll start working on large volumes of data. Luckily, Tableau should help you out in the endeavour. Where Excel is essentially a spreadsheet tool that allows you to analyse data and perform calculations, Tableau is famous for its data visualisation abilities.

Founded in 2003, Tableau is one of the most popular and fast-growing tools used in Business Analytics and Business Intelligence today. It manages vast volumes of data and its flow and turns data into actionable information. It allows you to analyse and visualise data faster and more efficiently. Tableau accomplishes this with the Tableau Product Suite which consists of:

Tableau Desktop
Tableau Public
Tableau Online
Tableau Reader

There are many reasons why Tableau is the preferred choice for Business Analysts:

✔ For one, Tableau is really easy to understand. It has a very simple interface and its learning curve is generally regarded to be short. Hence, even as a beginner, you can pick up on the skills and stand out from your peers.

✔ Tableau can handle large volumes of data and can connect to 40 different data sources including local text files, Microsoft Excel, PDFs, JSON or databases and servers like MySQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server, among others.

✔ Tableau has an easy-to-use drag-n-drop feature which allows users to create interactive dashboards with just a few clicks.

✔ Tableau provides convenient options to collaborate with other users and instantly share data in the form of visualisations, sheets, dashboards, etc. in real-time

✔ The Ask data feature of Tableau makes it even more favoured by users globally. It’s the Google search version on our reports. All you need to do is to type your query about the data in natural language and you’ll get the most relevant answers from Tableau.

So, in a nutshell, Tableau is great. But Tableau is not the only Business Analytics tool in the market there. In fact, if you’re comfortable with the Microsoft interface, there is another platform, you must check out – Power BI.

Power up with Power BI

Tableau has a great range of products and is considered to be a very powerful tool, but it is also equally expensive. For beginners, whose access to data and need for analysis is reasonably limited, Power BI is a viable alternative. That, combined with its price which is almost 1/7th of Tableau, makes Power BI the go-to platform for Business Analytics.

Like Tableau, Power BI is also used for data visualisation. It comes with standard data visuals that you can make use of to build interactive reports, such as bar, column, line, map, matrix, pie charts, scatter, table and waterfall. Each of these visuals has its options for customisation to enhance presentation and functionality.

While it doesn’t support as many data sources as Tableau, Power BI allows you to connect to:

Cloud-based sources such as DropBox, Azure (Azure Data Warehouse), OneDrive, Google Analytics, and SalesForce,
Excel spreadsheets and CSV files
Data located on-premises, such as SQL Database

Further, Power BI is very famous for its natural language querying capabilities, where you can ask specific queries like “How did the sales team perform last quarter?”. All you have to do is double-click an empty part of your report canvas and use the ‘Ask a Question box’.

The best part about Power BI is that it has been created by Microsoft, which allows for easier integration with Microsoft applications, especially Excel.

Although Power BI is about 10 years younger than Tableau and has lots to grow for seasoned Business Analysts to work comfortably with, it’s an extremely comfortable, affordable platform for beginners and is sure to become powerful in the coming years.

Well, these are the top 3 platforms for beginner Business Analysts. You can learn more about them in depth and understand their real-world applications in our Business Analytics Certification program designed for college students.

Is there any platform you’d like to know more about in detail? Let us know in your comments below.

The Building Blocks of Blockchain

Posted on July 29, 2022December 11, 2023 by kiruthika

In the digital climate we live in today, blockchain technology has become a transformative tool with the ability to influence various industries! Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, a blockchain developer, or curious about the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin; understanding the building blocks of blockchain is a fundamental step.

In this blog, we’ll delve into the core components that make up this innovative technology. We’ll break down the complexities, demystify its different aspects, and provide you with a clear understanding of how blockchain works. So, let’s unravel the building blocks of blockchain together!

Introduction to Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology might have become mainstream recently, but its research had actually begun in the 1990’s. However, it wasn’t until 2009 – when Bitcoin was created – that the technology was actually implemented.

Bitcoin, as we all know, is the world’s first cryptocurrency. And initially, blockchain only served as the backbone of cryptocurrency. Eventually, it was discovered that blockchain technology can actually be separated from Bitcoin and be used in other ways as well.

Blockchain Made Simple

In the simplest terms, blockchain is made of multiple small blocks of information that are linked together. These blocks of information are called ledgers. Visualize a storekeeper making an inventory, recording all goods coming in and going out of the store. Each unit sold is noted, including details like the date of purchase, expiry date, and supplier’s name.

Blockchain stores relevant information that is transparent and visible to everyone in that network. Each page in the inventory book is equivalent to one block. In the case of Bitcoin, transaction details are stored in each block.

Understanding Bitcoin

Let’s understand this with a group scenario – Tom, Jerry, Mike, and Bruno. They decide to use cryptocurrency for transactions. Jerry, the first to pay, creates a block with the transaction permanently inscribed, including the number of Bitcoins sent and the group’s individual balances.

Each block contains a unique hash number, like a unique fingerprint generated based on the information stored. This hash number helps track the history of the entire chain.

How does this Block form a chain

Blocks form a chain because, along with the hash of the current block, the hash of the previous block is also displayed. As a new block is created, it contains a new hash and the hash of the previous block. This creates a chain where each block references the one before it.

Using hash numbers, you can track the history of the entire chain. The blockchain or ledger is public, allowing anyone in the chain to view the complete transaction history.

Security Measures

Now you might be wondering what makes Blockchain so secure? One can’t simply change transaction details. The hash is unique to the data inscribed in a block, not the block itself. If you change data in a block, the hash changes, making the whole chain invalid because the data does not match.

One could argue that changing the hash in all blocks isn’t viable due to the time it takes to change data in a block. Additionally, the blockchain or ledger is publicly distributed, and changes require consensus from the group.

The Bottom Line

Blockchain technology has been around for a while now, and this is just the beginning, with such a boost in interest from blockchain developers around the world! Industries have adopted this technology to better facilitate their businesses, and it’s fascinating to see how blockchain will be used globally in the coming decades.

What are your thoughts on blockchain? Let us know in the comments below.

Exploring Blockchain Further

Blockchain technology has recently seen a boom in popularity, and this is just the beginning. With a surge in interest from blockchain developers worldwide, it’s clear that the power of this transformative technology is only going to increase going forward. It’s a good idea to invest your time in learning blockchain and understanding the different types of blockchain, as well as their applications.

If you aspire to become a blockchain developer, consider exploring blockchain certificate courses. These courses take you through the building blocks of blockchain technology and help you understand how to harness the potential of this powerful technology.

Also Read: What’s up with Web 3.0?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How Many Blocks are in Blockchain?

A: There can never be a fixed number of blocks in a blockchain. The number of blocks is continually increasing as new transactions are added to the network, forming a chain.

2. Who Creates Blocks in Blockchain?

A: Blocks are created by individuals known as “miners” who use computational power to solve intricate mathematical challenges in a process known as proof-of-work (PoW).

3. What is the Name of the Block in the Blockchain?

A: Blocks are identified by their position in the chain, usually with a unique block number or block height. The first block is called the Genesis block or Block 0.

4. What are the Three Parts of a Block in a Blockchain?

A: The three parts of a block in a blockchain are Block Header, Transaction Data, and Block Hash.

5. What are the Four Features of a Blockchain?

A: The four features of blockchain technology are Decentralization, Transparency, Security or Encryption, and Integrity of Ledger.

What’s up with Web 3.0?

Posted on July 27, 2022April 3, 2023 by kiruthika

There has been a buzz of a revolution going around the tech industry for quite some time now. It started a minute after the advent of the cryptocurrency and only recently has it started

to gain traction in the lives of those out of the tech sphere as well.

Yes, we’re talking about the development of Web 3.0.

If you’re new to this piece of information and are confused as to why a new web is being invented then keep reading because today we’ll discuss why the Web 2.0 you and love may become a thing of the past and what we can expect from the new era of the internet.

Before we get ahead of ourselves though, let’s understand Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

Web 1.0

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? (although, considering how long the internet has been around, for most of you this will be more of a history lesson than a flashback).

Web 1.0 as the name suggests is the first variation of the internet. It was also the most basic version of the internet. The boon with Web 1.0 was the fact that it was open source, which we’ll circle back to in a minute.

Web 1.0 was like a newspaper. Except newspapers could have images. But like newspapers, the communication here was one way. People could only view the content, but had no opportunity to interact with it. At best, they could click on hyperlinks and go to other pages, or submit forms and surveys.

And the primary contributors of content at Web 1.0 were coders since the only way to put up content was to learn technical skills like HTML and then publish. Consumers had to read whatever was presented to them as they couldn’t interact with the source in any way. Web 2.0 revolutionised that.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 – or the version that might soon go out of fashion – is the version we all currently use and consume. Web 2.0 was revolutionary at the time because it made use of multimedia, like pictures, videos, text, etc. to make the user experience more dynamic.

Web 2.0 introduced the world to blogs, Wikis, video sharing platforms like Youtube, microblogging sites like Twitter, and finally the pinnacle of that decade – social networking sites like – you guessed it – Facebook.

The key difference between the first two versions of the web is that Web 2.0 relied on users creating, sharing and themselves consuming that content. It would fall upon the tech giants, like Facebook, Google and Amazon, to provide a platform to make that possible. And this trend has persisted to date. Even today, 85% of content created and shared online is made by the users of those platforms. For example, all the reels and video content on Instagram aren’t made by Instagram itself. We, the users, make those and we are also the people that consume all that content made.

Another great feature of Web 2.0 is the birth of search engines – where users could type in relevant keywords and search for their desired results on the Search Engine Results Page. The only issue – which still exists by the way – is that the results aren’t always accurate. For example, if I were to type “apple” into Google’s search bar, the SERP would show me results for Apple inc. the company and not apple the fruit. In order to get results for the fruit, you would have to type Apple the fruit. We have to be extremely specific about what we type into the search bar to get the desired results.

Web 2.0 had a lot of other innovations too under its belt. From software development to social media, Web 2.0 has been the backbone of plenty of innovations. Then why the sudden call for change?

Why a web 3.0

The main reason people want a new internet is – ownership.

In the current version that is Web 2.0, you must have noticed that there is a monopoly. The majority of the internet is owned by certain companies only. For example, Google controls 87% of the global search market. And Facebook recently reached 3.6 billion users. While this is an incredible feat for these individual companies, it is preventing other companies from thriving and it is stopping new start-ups from blooming. This is because all the new startups are forced to build their products on the monopolists’ platform, where the protocols are not defined in the beginning and they can change at any point, sometimes without reason.

For example, you might remember a particular Instagram ad campaign from messaging app Signal that was meant to show the reality of how your information is sold to advertisers. The ad was filled with hyper-specific keywords that would be used to target certain groups of people. Well, that didn’t go over too well with Facebook. The campaign was blocked before it went live and Signal was banned from Facebook ads altogether. Businesses that try to get on these monopoly platforms often take this issue. They cannot afford to get out of the platform. And the platform rules change, sometimes without any transparency and at a great cost to the business owners.

But ownership is not the only reason for the need for Web 3.0. Another factor has been privacy.

Web 3.0 and Data Privacy

Data privacy has become a huge issue in the last decade. The data we put out on the internet is not ours anymore. It is taken and sold to businesses. Usually, it is targeted advertising, which seems harmless by itself, but there are far more dangerous things that can be done with our data – that aren’t completely illegal.

Preferences of users are heavily used not to simply market things to them, but also to shape public opinion. A classic example of this was the US presidential elections scandal in which user data was used for micro-targeting to sway people’s votes.

When other information, like users’ location, their health-related information and financial data get in the wrong hands, privacy and security become every individual’s concerns. Data and privacy has become such a big deal that Apple launched a new privacy feature with iOS 15.5 that masks their users’ IP address so that it can’t be linked with their activity on the web. This small feature alone is set to cost Facebook 10 Billion dollars in damages.

Not just that. When we use Big Tech platforms, our data is continuously collected and stored in the company’s central storage systems. Since our data is now controlled by these companies, we have no way to secure our data. It can be hacked from these centralised systems at any point. And it has happened multiple times in the past as well.

Conclusion

So there you have it – all the reasons why people want to change the old ways and switch to Web 3.0. But this is easier said than done.

Like any other technology, Web 3.0 faces its own set of challenges, and without the proper I.T infrastructure to back it, it might as well be a pipe dream. But hopefully, in trying to build a new internet, we’ll find a lot more advancements along the way.

What are your thoughts on Web 3.0? Let us know in the comments below.

Breaking Brand: Identity, Ingredients & Importance

Posted on July 25, 2022April 3, 2023 by kiruthika

Hey future digital marketers! You might have noticed that the world of marketing has changed a lot in the last 5 years, and along with it, so has the notion of a brand.

But what name comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘brand’? In a quick survey we did, the answers we heard included Nike, Audi, Apple, Zomato, McDonalds, among others. So what has made these names stand the test of time? What makes each one of them ‘a brand’?

The answer, in a nutshell, is brand identity.

First principles: Brand Identity

Before we delve deeper into the world of brand identity, here’s a quiz for you:

Quiz 1) Name the brand associated with each image.

From the quiz above, it’s clear that a brand need not be identified by one aspect alone. A brand can be recognized by its logo (#1) or by its tagline (#2), its outward packaging (also #2) or even the product it sells (#3). Sometimes, all it takes is a quirky message on an outdoor hoarding to evoke recognition among its consumers (#4).

Contrary to what many marketing freshers believe, brand identity is a lot more than the visual system developed by a team of designers in the marketing team. It is not restricted merely to colours, typography, imagery or icons. It is the sum of many parts – including tone of voice, personality type, content and customer experiences it generates.

From the iconic Ta-dum sound that Netflix makes on its opening screen to Apple’s Genius Bar of customer service representatives, a lot goes into a brand’s identity.

Point to Ponder :
In a recent survey, people on the street were asked to tell what they thought of when they heard the word ‘Bose’, and unanimously, everyone responded ‘headphones’. So in this case, which element of the Bose brand became the identifier? The logo or the product itself?

To put it simply, any element that establishes recall among the consumers forms a part of the brand identity.

Branding vs Brand Identity

To understand the importance of brand identity, we must first understand the importance of branding. And as per customer psychology, people buy from their gut.

Surely there are many consumers who spend hours researching the best buy. But at the time of the final purchase, they react from their emotional side. And between two virtually indistinguishable products, emotions are the tipping point.

Marketing guru Seth Godin believes that for a brand to evoke any emotion from its consumer, it must at least attempt to stand out. There are too many businesses in the marketplace selling the same thing with little to no distinction. Hence, it falls upon branding to separate a product or service from the crowd. Become remarkable. Become the purple cow in the herd.

While the objective of branding is to establish uniqueness and remarkableness, the objective of brand identity is to establish recall or “brand memorability”. Good branding creates a strong first impression. Brand identity retains and reinforces that impression, again and again in every interaction with the consumer.

In a nutshell, the only way to build a successful brand identity is to be consistent across all customer touchpoints.

Consider the classic Cola Wars between Pepsi and Coke. Every consumer prefers one over the other. This has a lot to do with the demographic they belong to, and branding plays a key role in it. Coca Cola has always positioned itself as the “Family brand” – from the Santa Claus colours of red and white to international campaigns like Share A Coke.

Pepsi, on the other hand, focuses on a younger crowd that loves rebelling. By capitalising on India’s Cricket Fever and selecting youth icons like Virat Kohli, it strengthened its position amongst the youngsters.

Both the beverages have enjoyed success and carved their own niche through branding. But these distinct brand identities didn’t come from one single campaign. It came from coordinated campaigns across various mediums, so that:

o Contour bottle or red and white colours = Coca Cola

o Team Blue = Pepsi

Quiz 2) To build a brand identity, we need to create a strong first impression on the consumer.
True | False | Too Vague

(Scroll to the end for answers)

While there are many models to define brand identity, the most holistic one is Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism or The Brand Identity Prism. Developed in 1996 by Jean-Noel Kapferer, the relevance of this model holds true to date.

The Brand Identity Prism divides the brand identity into six key elements. Let us analyse each of these elements with the example of Coca Cola.

1) Physique: Physique refers to the physical characteristics of the brand which the consumers visually experience. This includes logo, style guide, packaging, website, etc. In Coca Cola’s case, the signature red and white colours with the stripe and the bottle’s contour define the brand’s physique.

2) Personality: Personality traits are those inherent features that permeate through various facets. For e.g., colours of red and white are associated with festivity, emphasised further by Coca Cola’s tagline “Open Happiness.”

3) Culture: Culture of a brand includes the values that the brand upholds, and can play a strong role in the brand’s campaign. This can include the brand’s mission statement, its commitment to the employees and the world outside. It is also rooted geographically, and hence, Coca Cola’s peppy, positive ethos found its way in the Indian campaign of Ummeed Vaali Dhoop.

4) Relationship: This refers to a direct connection with the consumer – be it in a customer service call or a social media campaign, and maintaining a positive relationship with them. Coca Cola, even before the rise of social media, practised this through on-ground campaigns like The Happiness Machine.

5) Reflection: This element talks about a brand’s ideal consumer. It is about how a brand mirrors its consumer and tailors the communication accordingly. For instance, Coca Cola’s brand ambassadors have always been family favourites, like Amir Khan and Aishwarya Rai, underscoring the theme of “Family Time”.

6) Self-image: Different from Reflection, Self-image refers to how the audience visualises themselves in relation to the brand. And every one of Coca Cola’s campaigns and ads has the element of happiness. The image in the consumer’s mind is simple. Make your moment happy with Coke.

Quiz 3)Which of these is NOT a part of the brand identity?
a)Tagline b)Hashtag c)Employee handbook d)All are a part of brand identity

(Scroll to the end for answers)

Impact on Consumer Behaviour

Recognition begets more recognition – especially in today’s hyper-connected world. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family, above other forms of advertising. Think about it this way – don’t you end up following a page on Instagram that comes highly recommended by your friend? Brand recommendations work the same way.

This is why a strong brand identity is crucial to its success. By focussing on all the components of brand identity, a brand can:

Attract a larger audience.
All of Coca Cola’s campaigns have led to it being recognized by 94% of the world’s population and a global brand value of over 71 billion U.S. dollars.
Build trust with their consumers.
Despite being significantly pricier than its competitors, Apple has a large following, because of the trust people have in the brand.
Make a cultural impact.
Cadbury’s premium luxury gift boxes have re-defined the tradition of Diwali sweets.
Affect purchasing norms.
With awareness rising in social media, many consumers are shifting to brands that emphasise the values of sustainability and animal cruelty-free practices.

With these examples, it’s clear that a strong, recognisable and relatable brand identity can turn a business into a brand and can successfully convert its customers into ambassadors.

Now that you know all about brand identity, let’s take a look at the answers to the quiz:

Quiz 1) Netflix 2. Chai Point 3. Playstation 4. Hotstar

Quiz 2) False. Many brands today fail to create a first strong impression. But through several interactions and consistent messaging a brand can establish its identity.

Quiz 3) d)

If you faced any issues in solving the quiz or are interested in diving deeper into the world of branding and marketing, sign up for our Digital Marketing course today.

Proof that Cyber Security concerns Everyone.

Posted on July 8, 2022April 3, 2023 by kiruthika

Cyber crime to most people feels too trivial a problem to take seriously. They probably think that a few stolen numbers and passwords won’t affect them, believing that they have no important data that needs protection as such. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who constantly fret over weak cyber security and will probably go out of their way to cover their laptop camera with tape, taking no chances when it comes to their data.

So which one are you? Someone who doesn’t really care what happens to their data or are you a Cyber Security aspirant – waiting to rid the world of cyber crime?

Well, whatever the case might be, we are here to give all you naysayers some incentive to take Cyber Security more seriously and for all you Cyber Security optimists, proof that you have been right to take Cyber crime seriously all along!

In this blog, we’re going to cover 2 prominent cases of serious cyber breaches that had unfathomable consequences for the people and companies involved.

One of the leading brands in the hospitality industry, Marriott faced a lot of challenges back in 2018 when they found out that one of their reservation systems had been compromised – the reservation system at their Starwood properties to be exact.

A brief history of the Marriott – Starwood Merger

Starwood properties weren’t always a part of Marriott. Once an independent chain hosting a multitude of brands like St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin and W hotels, it was acquired by Marriott in 2016. But the issue predates this acquisition.

Marriott revealed that the reservation system had actually been compromised sometime in 2014. Unbeknownst to either brand back then, the compromised reservation system was used even after the acquisition, since much of the IT infrastructure remained the same and had not been integrated into Marriott’s private reservation system (MARSHA).

So how was the breach detected?

Sometime in 2018, a security tool flagged an unusual database query and Accenture brought it to light. Accenture had been running IT and infosecurity for Starwood properties and continued to do so once Starwood became a part of Marriott hotels.

The query was made by a user with administrator privileges, but Accenture quickly realised that the query hadn’t actually come from that account and that the account had been hacked. After digging around for more information they found a RAT in the system (and no, we don’t mean an actual rat). They discovered a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) and Mimikatz, a dangerous malware that discovers passwords and user information. Paired together, it is theorised that these two malware tools could’ve given the hackers control of that account.

The cyber threat effect affects us all inevitably.

The damage? The personal information of more than 500 million guests was potentially stolen, which included some really sensitive information like their credit card information and passport numbers, much to the dismay of their customers

The only silver lining to the breach of data was that none of the data ever made it to the dark web, nor was it sold anywhere else. However, this news didn’t curb the panic that ensued, as millions of people started cancelling their cards and transferring their money to more secure accounts to ensure that they weren’t defrauded in the future. Which is why, even though the data wasn’t leaked anywhere, people were still affected by the news. This rings true for all cyber crime attacks, once your data has been made vulnerable, you will have to change all your details to safeguard yourself once more.

Considering its large user base, Yahoo has fought multiple long and arduous battles against cyber-criminals over the last decade.

The timeline of these attacks would look something like this:

2012

The first notable attack was a decade ago in 2012 when Yahoo Voices, formerly known as Associated Content, was hacked and 400,000 user accounts were compromised in the attack.

So what made this hack possible? The problem occurred due to the weak security in the systems Yahoo acquired during the acquisition of Associated Content. As in the case of Marriott, these systems weren’t checked nor were they updated.

2013

Less than a year after announcing the unfortunate hacking of Yahoo Voices, Yahoo Mail was targeted. Many customers came out with complaints, stating that their accounts had been hacked. The source? Phishing mails. Yahoo users were sent phishing emails that, once clicked on, gave the hackers complete access to their mail and subsequently, access to their calendar as well.

2014

There was no rest for the wicked this year either. Yahoo made an announcement in the latter half of January that there was an attempted hack, where customer data – passwords and user ids – were made vulnerable. The hackers had allegedly tried to breach email accounts after getting a list of email addresses and passwords from a third-party server. Yahoo changed the passwords swiftly to put a stop to the attacks.

2016

In the late September of 2016, Yahoo, once again, made a public announcement, stating that 500 Million accounts were hacked. This time around, encrypted and unencrypted, including passwords, answers to security questions, mail addresses, telephone numbers and dates of birth were hacked. Yahoo pointed fingers at alleged state-sponsored hackers and hailed them as the main culprits behind this hack. This claim was obviously disputed. Yahoo also claimed that the hack was carried out using forged cookies, which eliminated the need for passwords, to gain user access.

2016 (Again)

Come December of 2016, a mere 3 months later, Yahoo made history by announcing the biggest data breach up till date. The hack occurred sometime in 2013 and was brought to light after an investigation by law enforcement that took place after a tip-off.

What makes this hack historical? More than a billion accounts were reported to be hacked. Much like its precursor in September, the passwords, email addresses, encrypted and unencrypted data including security questions and their answers were hacked. The hack was also carried out using forged cookies to gain user access.

After this flood of cyber attacks over the last decade, Yahoo’s reputation has suffered irredeemably, not only because security wasn’t prioritised multiple times, but also because they failed to disclose these hacks earlier, making it look like a cover-up, which didn’t sit well with their loyal patrons.

The aftermath for both these cases was devastating to the companies involved. Marriott Hotels was fined more than 120 Million USD for violating the privacy of British citizens under the GDPR. Further, Marriott had to cover additional costs of the breach itself. Likewise, Yahoo had to pay over 50 Million in fines.

But it’s not just about monetary loss that they inevitably incurred. It’s more about their brand image that was damaged through the whole ordeal.

So assume this to be your sign to take Cyber threats more seriously. If this blog has inspired you to consider Cyber Security as a career, upGrad Campus has courses tailored specifically for you. Do check out the Certificate course in upGrad Campus and get to saving our data from these malicious attacks today!