Stealing information can be just as lucrative–and destructive–as stealing anything else. Our look at the history of data theft touches on some of the major (or just really interesting) crimes in history. The father of the American Industrial Revolution? A glorified data thief. That tea you’re drinking (let’s say just for the duration of this sentence, you are drinking tea)? That’s a stolen secret recipe, the theft of which involved a Scotsman dressed up in “traditional mandarin garb.” And if you’re a PlayStation Network user or a Gawker commenter, you’ll be familiar with some of the latter items on our list. And don’t forget to check out the rest of Data Week, our exploration of all things data.
Click to launch our guide to the biggest data thefts in history.
