Global Data Breaches and Cyber Attacks in May 2025 – More Than 1.4 Billion Records Breached

Summary

  • Total number of incidents disclosed: 44
  • Total number of known records breached: 1,443,150,467


Sources of breached data

  • Scraped or leaked from public APIs:
    • Facebook (1.2 billion records)
    • Credential dump compiled via infostealers (184 million+ credentials)
  • Vendor/Cloud breaches exposing customer/employee data
    • Ascension Health (via third-party file tool): 437,000
    • Spyware apps (stalkerware): 3.2 million
  • Direct or insider breaches involving client data:
    • AT&T (unconfirmed): 31 million
    • Coinbase (insider at call centre): 69,461
    • Co-op UK (ransomware gang): claimed 20 million


Top 5 incidents by number of records affected

The following are the largest incidents publicly disclosed in May 2025, ranked by known/claimed impact:

1. Facebook (Meta)

  • Records affected: 1.2 billion.
  • Data: Full names, Facebook IDs, email addresses, phone numbers, locations, birthdates and gender.
  • Cause: Scraped via a vulnerable Facebook API.
  • Status: Yet to be verified – Meta claims it relates to a historic breach.

2. Unknown credentials database

  • Records affected: 184,162,718 email/password pairs
  • Data: Plaintext credentials tied to Google, Microsoft and Meta, and banking logins
  • Cause: Likely compiled from infostealer malware and left exposed online
  • Status: Removed after discovery, source undetermined

3. AT&T (unverified)

  • Records affected: 31 million (claimed).
  • Data: Names, birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, tax IDs, device and cookie data.
  • Cause: Posted to a hacking forum.
  • Status: So far unverified but sample data was provided. AT&T is investigating.

4. Co-op UK

  • Records affected: ~20 million (claimed by attackers).
  • Data: Names, dates of birth, contact details of current and former members.
  • Cause: Ransomware gang DragonForce (linked to Scattered Spider).
  • Status: Under investigation.

5. LexisNexis Risk Solutions

  • Records affected: 364,000 individuals.
  • Data: Full names, home addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and potentially employment/salary information.
  • Cause: Data breach stemming from a hacking incident in December 2024, when attackers infiltrated internal systems and accessed personal records.
  • Status: Breach discovered in January 2025 and disclosed in May 2025 after investigation. Affected individuals were offered credit monitoring.


    Trends in May 2025

    • Significant rise in scraped/mass-exposed data
      Two of the five largest leaks came from large-scale scraping or credential aggregation (Facebook and infostealer dumps), rather than direct intrusions.
    • Vendor risk and insider breaches rising
      Incidents at Ascension Health, Adidas, and Coinbase all stemmed from third parties – either contractors or software dependencies.
    • Retail and tech remain prime targets
      Retailers including Co-op, Harrods, Adidas, Dior, and Victoria’s Secret were targeted or affected this month. Cloud services (TeleMessage, spyware vendors) and edtech (Pearson) also saw notable activity.
    • UK particularly affected
      More than 5 major incidents involved UK organisations, including Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Harrods, the Legal Aid Agency and Pearson.


    Key vulnerabilities exploited

    • GitLab personal access token (Pearson):
      A misconfigured or exposed token gave attackers source code access and credentials to internal services.
    • Infostealer malware (unknown credentials database):
      Though not tied to a single software flaw, this dataset was likely gathered silently over months from infected devices lacking endpoint protection.
    • AWS misconfiguration (TeleMessage):
      An unsecured S3-like store enabled unauthorised access to archived, plaintext versions of government messages.


    List of incidents

    Disclosure date Organisation Country Sector Incident Type Records Affected
    May 1, 2025 Ascension Health USA Healthcare Third-party data breach (vulnerability exploit) 430,000 patients
    May 1, 2025 Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office USA Government (Law Enforcement) Insider data leak 101 employees
    May 1, 2025 Cobb County, Georgia USA Government (County) Ransomware (Qilin) Unknown (150 GB claimed)
    May 1, 2025 Synnovis (UK Labs) UK Healthcare (Laboratory) Ransomware (Qilin) ~8,000 patients (est.)
    May 1, 2025 Commvault USA Tech (Data Management) Targeted cyberattack (zero-day exploit) Unknown
    May 1, 2025 Bartlesville Public Schools USA Education (K-12) Cyberattack (network outage) 6,000+ students
    May 2, 2025 Co-op UK Retail (Grocery) Ransomware (DragonForce) Up to 20 Million (claimed)
    May 2, 2025 Nova Scotia Power (Emera) Canada Energy (Utility) Cyberattack (unauthorized access) Unknown (customer data)
    May 2, 2025 Harrods UK Retail (Luxury) Cyberattack (attempted intrusion) Unknown
    May 2, 2025 Raw Dating App USA Technology (Dating App) Data leak (misconfiguration) 500,000+ users (Android installs)
    May 2, 2025 Magento e-Stores Global E-commerce (Retail) Supply-chain attack (Magecart) 500–1,000 stores
    May 2, 2025 Saskatoon Children’s Hospital Canada Healthcare Privacy breach (insider access) 314 patients
    May 4, 2025 TeleMessage (Signal clone) USA Technology (Encrypted Messaging) Hack (server takeover) Unknown (Gov’t comms data)
    May 5, 2025 Coweta County Schools USA Education (K-12) Cyberattacks (ransomware suspected) 23,000 students
    May 6, 2025 Masimo USA Healthcare (MedTech) Cyberattack (operations disruption) Unknown
    May 6, 2025 iHeartMedia USA Media (Radio) Data breach (hackers undetected) Unknown (multi-state)
    May 7, 2025 Insight Partners USA Finance (Venture Capital) Cyberattack (social engineering; data theft) Unknown (employees & investors)
    May 7, 2025 South African Airways South Africa Transportation (Airline) Cyberattack (IT disruption) Unknown
    May 8, 2025 Pearson plc UK Education (EdTech) Cyberattack (token compromise; data theft) “Millions” of customers (legacy data)
    May 8, 2025 Japan FSA Japan Government (Financial Regulator) Account compromises (fraudulent trades) Unknown (≈$2 B funds moved)
    May 8, 2025 SogoTrade, Inc. USA Finance (Online Brokerage) Email account breach (phishing) 48,696 clients
    May 10, 2025 iClicker USA Education (EdTech) Website compromise (malware) Unknown
    May 11, 2025 Global Crossing Airlines USA Transportation (Airline) Cyberattack (hacktivist data theft) Unknown
    May 12, 2025 State of Alabama USA Government (State) “Cybersecurity event” (suspected ransomware) Unknown
    May 13, 2025 Marks & Spencer UK Retail (Department Store) Ransomware (DragonForce/Scattered Spider) Unknown (mass scale)
    May 13, 2025 Nucor Corporation USA Manufacturing (Steel) Cyberattack (IT disruption) Unknown
    May 13, 2025 Multiple Orgs – SAP NetWeaver Global Various (Energy, Water, Manufacturing, Gov’t) Nation‑state hacking (vulnerability exploits) 581 systems (across orgs)
    May 14, 2025 Coinbase USA Finance (Cryptocurrency) Insider breach + extortion 69,461 customers
    May 14, 2025 Australian Human Rights Commission Australia Government (Civil Rights) Data leak (misindexed documents) “Hundreds” of files
    May 14, 2025 Lecardo Clinic Russia Healthcare (Private Hospital) Cyberattack (hacktivist disruption) Unknown
    May 19, 2025 UK Legal Aid Agency UK Government (Legal Services) Cyberattack (data breach) Millions (15 yrs of applicants)
    May 19, 2025 Arla Foods Denmark (and Germany) Food & Agriculture Cyberattack (OT disruption) Unknown (production only)
    May 20, 2025 Kettering Health USA Healthcare (Hospital Network) Ransomware (Interlock) 67,000 patients (warned)
    May 20, 2025 Peter Green Chilled UK Logistics (Food Supply) Ransomware (Scattered Spider) Unknown (operations impact)
    May 20, 2025 Cellcom USA Telecom (Mobile Carrier) Cyberattack (service outage) 300,000 customers (approx.)
    May 22, 2025 Coca-Cola USA/Middle East Beverage (Retail) Ransomware (Everest) 959 employees (+ data claim)
    May 22, 2025 Open Credentials Database Global N/A (Multiple platforms) Data leak (unsecured server) 184,162,718 accounts
    May 26, 2025 MathWorks (MATLAB) USA Technology (Software) Ransomware attack (IT outage) Unknown
    May 26, 2025 Adidas Germany Retail (Apparel) Third-party breach (vendor hack) Unknown (customer count)
    May 27, 2025 City of Sheboygan, WI USA Government (City) Ransomware (Chort) 67,000 residents
    May 28, 2025 LexisNexis Risk Solutions USA Data Analytics (Broker) Data breach (hacking) 364,000 individuals
    May 28, 2025 Victoria’s Secret USA Retail (Apparel) Cybersecurity incident (site offline) Unknown
    May 29, 2025 ConnectWise USA Technology (IT Software) Cyberattack (supply chain) Unknown (limited clients)
    May 30, 2025 ASVT ISP (Moscow) Russia Telecom (Internet Provider) DDoS attack (service outage) ~40,000 customers


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