Wired published its annual list of the most dangerous internet topics for 2023, and at the top of this list was billionaire Elon Musk. Interestingly, Musk surpassed all the notorious hacker groups that followed his name on the list.

1. Elon Musk: an unpredictable Internet figure

At the top of the list was Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX and X. Wired points out that Musk made the list thanks to his efforts to “reform” X, recovering accounts belonging to conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones, and the spread of anti-viruses. -Semitic explanations in social networks.

The report also mentions Musk’s launch of the censorship-evading Grok chatbot and the ongoing investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission into his comments regarding experiments during the development of Neuralink.

Wired describes Musk as “the most influential and unpredictable person on the Internet” who uses his platform to spread controversial information, mobilize supporters and advance his ambitious projects.

2. Cl0p: Infamous hacker group comes to the fore

In second place is the hacker group Cl0p, known for its activities in ransomware distribution.

The group resumed operations in 2023 by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer software that affected more than 2,000 organizations. In particular, medical company Maximus lost control over the data of at least 8 million people.

The Cl0p gang, which is still at large, attacked various organizations and seized the data of 62 million people.

3. Alphv: Ransomware hackers

In third place is Alphv (Black Cat), another hacker group specializing in extortion.

In September, Alphv attacked MGM Resorts International, disrupting the hotel and casino chain and demanding $100 million. The FBI says Alphv collected more than $300 million in ransoms by compromising more than a thousand organizations.

In mid-December, the group announced its intention to attack critical infrastructure systems, raising concerns.

4. Sandworm: Russian Hackers

Sandworm, a Russia-linked hacker group known for its cyber attacks that cause power outages and espionage, ranks fourth.

Sandworm continued its attacks against Ukraine in 2023, using new malicious code that could destroy data on computers. The group is accused of interfering in elections across Europe and stealing data from international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO and the European Union.

5. Volt Typhoon: Chinese hacker group

In fifth place is the Chinese hacker group Volt Typhoon, which specializes in cyber espionage and sabotage. In May, it was revealed that the group had planted malware in the power grid of the United States and Guam to control the supply of electricity to military bases.

Typhoon Volt also attacked oil and gas pipelines, major ports on the West Coast, and a water supply in Hawaii.