In a shocking display of negligence, several major technology companies have been caught mishandling massive data breaches, putting the sensitive information of millions of users at risk. The companies, including 23andMe, Change Healthcare, Snowflake, and others, have been criticized for their lack of transparency, inadequate security measures, and attempts to shift the blame onto victims.

The genetic testing giant 23andMe, for instance, suffered a massive data breach that exposed the genetic and ancestry data of nearly 7 million customers. Instead of taking responsibility, the company blamed its users for not securing their accounts properly, a move that was deemed "nonsensical" by lawyers representing the affected users. The incident has sparked a joint investigation by U.K. and Canadian authorities, and 23andMe has since laid off 40% of its staff amidst financial uncertainty.

Change Healthcare, a healthcare tech company, faced a cyberattack that forced it to shut down its entire network, causing widespread outages across the U.S. healthcare system. The company's handling of the hack was heavily criticized, as it took seven months to reveal that over 100 million people had their private health information stolen. Change Healthcare paid a ransom of $22 million to the hackers, only to have to pay another ransom to ask another hacking group to delete the stolen data.

Snowflake, a cloud computing giant, found itself at the center of a series of mass hacks targeting its corporate customers, including AT&T, Ticketmaster, and Santander Bank. The hackers broke in using login details stolen by malware, and Snowflake's lack of mandated multi-factor security allowed the hackers to steal vast banks of data. Snowflake later rolled out multi-factor-by-default to its customers, but the damage had already been done.

Other companies, such as Synnovis, MoneyGram, and Hot Topic, have also been implicated in major data breaches, with some attempting to downplay the severity of the incidents or silence security researchers who uncovered evidence of the breaches. The city of Columbus, Ohio, even sued a security researcher for truthfully reporting on a ransomware attack that exposed the data of over half a million people.

The incidents have sparked widespread outrage and calls for greater accountability from companies handling sensitive user data. As the scale of these breaches continues to grow, it remains to be seen how these companies will respond to the fallout and work to regain the trust of their users.

In related news, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has fined four cybersecurity companies a collective $6.9 million for downplaying their own breaches, and a spyware app called pcTattletale was hacked, exposing data on over 138,000 customers. The owner of the app deleted the data instead of notifying affected individuals, citing concerns that the breach could have exposed his customers.

The sheer scale and frequency of these data breaches serve as a stark reminder of the importance of robust security measures and transparency in the handling of sensitive user data. As the tech industry continues to grapple with these issues, one thing is clear: companies must do better to protect their users' information and take responsibility when they fail to do so.