Computer history - 2024
Major computer events in 2024
The cybersecurity company CrowdStrike issued a faulty update to its security software on July 19, 2024, causing global computer outages. This disruption caused the blue screen of death for millions of Microsoft Windows computers used by air travel, banking, and other businesses and caused an estimated $10 billion in damages.
2024 computer and technology top terms
The following are some top computer and technology-related terms in alphabetical order that were introduced or popularized in 2024.
New computer products and services introduced in 2024
The Copilot key is a computer keyboard key introduced in January 2024 that opens Copilot on computers running Microsoft Windows.
The Rabbit r1 is released by Teenage Engineering on January 9, 2024. This Android powered device was a ChatGPT-based personal assistant that helped complete tasks such as ordering food delivery.
Apple released its Vision Pro mixed reality headset on February 2, 2024.
Bluesky was opened to everyone on February 6, 2024, and over one million new users signed up within a day.
Bluetooth 6.0 officially launches in September 2024.
Android version 15 (Vanilla ice cream) was released on October 15, 2024.
Apple introduced its new Mac Mini with its M4 processor in October 2024.
Computer and technology-related events in 2024
On January 29, 2024, Elon Musk announced that the first human had received an implant from Neuralink.
On Saturday, March 9, 2024, all US SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) test-takers started using a computer instead of No. 2 pencil and paper for the first time.
Interpol announced in June that its operation First Light 2024 seized $257 million in assets and disrupted the transnational online organized crime networks in over 61 countries.
U.K. legislators introduced a new law banning weak passwords to improve cybersecurity that went into effect on May 26, 2024. The country became the first country in the world to enact such measures and the law prevents such weak passwords as "12345" and "password."
An AI-generated candidate called "AI Steve" appeared on a July 2024 ballot papers in the UK. The candidate is the world's first AI lawmaker up for an election.
Winamp released its source code on GitHub on September 25, 2024, inviting developers to collaborate on helping modernize the media player. Within a month it was removed due to licensing issues with parts of its code.
An AI powered robot called Ai-Da created a painting of Alan Turing called "AI God: Portrait of Alan Turing" that sold for $1.08 million in November 2024.
On November 17, 2024, a Chinese cargo ship cut an undersea Internet cable between Lithuania and Sweden and later cut another cable between Germany and Finland. These cuts resulted in a decrease of Internet speeds across Northern Europe. It was later found that the ship had been dragging its anchor that cut the two cables.
Australia passed the world's first social media ban for children under 16.
On December 4, 2024, for the first time bitcoin surpassed $100,000 in value.
According to Coinbase, bitcoin hit its highest valuation of $108,357.60 on December 16, 2024.
Steam announced it achieved its highest player count with 39.2 million players playing games at the same time on December 11, 2024.
Ukraine announced in December 2024 it conducted an all-robot assault on Russian positions in Kharkiv Oblast and won. The assault had drones and other robotic and unmanned equipment.
In 2024, Oxford named "brain rot" the word of the year.
Computer company events in 2024
Doceo completed its acquisition of Document Essentials in January 2024.
Notion acquired privacy-focused productivity platform Skiff.
Nikon announced in March 2024 that it'd be acquiring the US camera manufacturer RED Digital Cinema.
Web-based platform Canva announced it had acquired the Affinity creative software suite in March 2024.
Wordpress.com owner Automattic acquires Beeper app for $125 million in April 2024.
Cisco completes acquisition of Isovalent on April 12, 2024.
Atari announced on May 23, 2024 it had acquired Intellivision.
Redbox entered into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy on July 10, 2024, which effectively closed the company.
AMD announced in August 2024 that it would be acquiring infrastructure company ZT Systems for $4.9B.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on August 24, 2024, on a warrant related to Telegram's lack of moderation.
Ziff Davis announced it would be acquiring CNET for $100 million in August 2024.
Verizon announced on September 5, 2024 that it would be acquiring Frontier to expand its fiber network.
Kaspersky began deleting its anti-malware software in September 2024 from customers' computers and replaced it with UltraAV antivirus solution after deciding to shut down its U.S. operations.
Red Hat announced in November 2024, it would be acquiring Neural Magic, a pioneer in software and algorithms used with GenAI.
Google releases "Willow," a new quantum computer chip with 105 qubits.
Walmart completed its acquisition of VIZIO and its SmartCast operating system for approximately $2.3 billion.
Google introduced the smart glasses platform Google XR in December 2024.
Security breaches and leaks in 2024
In 2024, the U.S. government announced one of the worst telecom hacks in history that had been happening since 2022. The cyberattack dubbed "Salt Typhoon" gave Chinese hackers access to telecommunication networks run by AT&T, Verizon, and others. According to the FBI, Salt Typhoon allowed Chinese hackers to access phone calls and text messages on these networks using backdoors provided to law enforcement.
Security researchers announced in January 2024 the discovery of the MOAB (Mother Of All Breaches), which contained 26 billion records or 13 terabytes of data. The breach contains the largest user data ever discovered, including the e-mails, usernames, full names, and other account details of over 15 million Trello users.
Researchers silently fixed a DNS (domain name system) bug called "KeyTrap" (CVE-2023-50387) that had the potential to cause widespread Internet outages.
UnitedHealth confirmed on May 1, 2024 that it paid a $22 million ransom to hackers who breached its subsidiary Change Healthcare and caused issues in April from an attack in February.
In February 2024, Prudential Financial was affected by a data breach of more than 2.5 million individuals. Included in this breach was the names, addresses, and driver's license numbers.
The camera maker Wyze announced in February that, because of a glitch, approximately 13,000 of its customers were temporarily shown thumbnails from other users' cameras.
In March 2024, Roku disclosed that 15,000 of its accounts had been compromised.
Dell announced a data breach in May 2024 of 49 million of its customers information including purchases and warranty information that were accessible through an API.
In March 2024, Fujitsu discovered several of its systems were infected by malware and warned that hackers had stolen customer data.
In March 2024, AT&T announced that 73 M (7.6 million current and 65.4 former) customer accounts and information appeared on the dark web after a data breach.
In March 2024, a threat actor leaked over 400,000 Life360 customers data it collected using a login API (Application Programming Interface) flaw.
Ticketmaster notified its users that between April 2 and May 18 an unauthorized third-party accessed its cloud database. This breach included names, contact information, and payment cards with expiration dates.
In April 2024, Roku indicated that it had discovered 576,000 customer accounts were compromised after investigating its earlier attack.
The healthcare giant Ascension suffered a ransomware attack in May that allowed hackers to steal personal information on 5.6 million patients.
Snowflake, a security platform used by many companies, announced in May 2024 that it had been the victim of a major cyberattack. AT&T, one of its clients, announced that nearly all of its wireless customers' data in 2022, which included subscribers' calls and text messages, was compromised in the attack.
In June 2024, the L.A. County public health agency announced it had been a victim of a phishing attack that jeopardized the information of over 200,000 residents.
Twilio announced 33 million of its Authy accounts, including phone numbers were leaked online in July 2024.
National Public Data, a background-check company, announced in August that it started detecting suspicious network activity in December of last year. It was later revealed that 2.9 billion records of U.S. citizens were stolen. These records also included the social security numbers of many Americans. The company later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 2, 2024.
In August 2024, Kootenai Health, a healthcare provider in Idaho, announced it detected a cyber attack in March 2024 that impacted over 464,000 patients.
In September 2024, payment processor Slim CD notified nearly 1.7 million people of a recent data breach they experienced. This breach included names, addresses, and credit card numbers with their expiration dates.
MoneyGram confirmed in October that it was hacked and that its customers personal data was leaked.
The Internet Archive was hacked in October 2024 with a data breach that impacted 31 million users.
Fidelity discloses in October 2024, it had a data breach that exposed the personal data of 77,000 customers.
Andrew Tate's online university was hacked in November 2024. The hack exposed nearly 800,000 of its users data.
SRP Federal Credit Union announced in December 2024 that over 240,000 members had their data compromised in a data breach
On December 30, 2024, the United States Treasury announced it was hacked by Chinese hackers.
Computer-related TV shows and movies released in 2024
The documentary Biggest Heist Ever, was released in 2024. The Netflix show is about the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange hack in 2016, where $72 million of bitcoin was stolen.
Discontinued products and services in 2024
Fossil announced in January 2024 that it was quitting the smartwatch business.
Google announced in 2023 that it would be discontinuing Google Podcasts in 2024.
Teachers Lead Tech announces it will no longer provide its services as of February 29, 2024.
The HARO (Help A Reporter Out) website was closed on April 2, 2024, and moved to Connectively.
Atlas VPN announced it would shut down on April 24, 2024, and all existing customers would be moved to NordVPN.
Google announced that Google Pay will end on June 4, 2024, everywhere except in India and Singapore. All customers should transfer their accounts to Google Wallet.
Sony announced it will be no longer producing recordable Blu-ray and optical discs for consumers in July 2024.
In August 2024, the Game Informer magazine and website was shut down after 33 years of publication.
The popular tech site AnandTech announces it August 30, 2024 is its last day of publication.
Mibbit announced the site would be shutting down on August 30, 2024, because it was no longer commercially viable.
The Apple-focused publication iMore announced on September 25, 2024 that it was its last day of publication.
Microsoft ended support for Surface Duo 2 on October 21, 2024.
Microsoft announced it would be removing Paint 3D from the Microsoft Store on November 4, 2024 and no longer supporting the app.
Amazon announced in November 2024, that it was shutting down Freevee, its ad-supported video brand. The Freevee content would be moved to Amazon Prime Video service.
Spotify notified customers who purchased its Car Thing product that it would stop working after December 9, 2024.
Microsoft announced in December 2024 it had discontinued the Surface Studio all-in-one desktop.
Microsoft announced its support for Windows Mail, Calendar, and People would be ending on December 31, 2024.
Computer pioneer deaths in 2024
Niklaus Wirth passed away on January 1, 2024 (Age: 89).
John Walker passed away on February 2, 2024 (Age: 74).
Robert Dennard passed away on April 23, 2024 (Age: 91).
Gordon Bell passed away on May 17, 2024 (Age: 89).
Lynn Conway passed away on June 9, 2024 (Age: 86).
Susan Wojcicki passed away on August 9, 2024 (Age: 56).
Ward Christensen passed away on October 11, 2024 (Age: 78).
Thomas Kurtz passed away on November 12, 2024 (Age: 96).