• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFortune Crystal Ball

Prediction: Cyberspies Will Attack Your Inbox in 2016

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 30, 2015, 10:00 AM ET
537890891
Hacker, cyborg programmer on a computerPhotograph by Getty Images/iStockphoto

The staff of Fortune recently assembled its predictions for 2016. Here’s one of our forecasts.

Your credit card information is probably already for sale on the black market, sad to say. But odds are you’ll be hacked in a more insidious way in 2016, sadder to say. Your identity has by now been logged into some vast spy database in a foreign country (probably China), where an intelligence agency is building up a profile around your persona—sourced from personal information available on social media and through breached health insurers, airlines, government offices, and the like. That means these state-sponsored attackers have everything they need to target you with crafty phishing schemes to help them compromise your networks, your data, your contacts. So think twice before opening that next email attachment.

This article is part of the 2016 Fortune Crystal Ball, a package of 33 predictions about business, politics and the economy by the writers and editors of Fortune. To see the entire package, click here.

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Photo: Young woman spending day outside in residential area in city.
AITech
Wells Fargo: AI is a ‘euphoric’ bubble and investors should ride it until it pops
By Jim EdwardsMay 13, 2026
12 minutes ago
What drones and drug discovery have in common
NewslettersTerm Sheet
What drones and drug discovery have in common
By Allie GarfinkleMay 13, 2026
27 minutes ago
Google's new Googlebook laptop. (Courtesy: Google)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Behold, the Googlebook
By Andrew NuscaMay 13, 2026
2 hours ago
A gold Nvidia server exhibit
LawNvidia
Encrypted texts reveal how Nvidia chips and U.S. tech are being smuggled to China and Russia
By Amanda GerutMay 13, 2026
2 hours ago
Sam Altman walks inside a courthouse
LawOpenAI
Sam Altman defends himself as a ‘honest and trustworthy businessperson’ in trial testimony detailing his past dealings with Elon Musk
By The Associated Press, Barbara Ortutay and Matt O'BrienMay 12, 2026
13 hours ago
An employee pulls out a server rack shelf at the rear of a Trainium3 UltraServer at an Amazon Web Services QA lab in Austin, Texas, on February 3, 2026.
AIAmazon
‘That doesn’t sound very healthy’: Amazon’s reported tokenmaxxing might gamify AI usage, analyst warns
By Eva RoytburgMay 12, 2026
14 hours ago

Most Popular

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
14 hours ago
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
Travel & Leisure
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
By Catherina GioinoMay 12, 2026
17 hours ago
Forget U.S. debt, China's total borrowing is in 'a league of its own'—much worse and deteriorating faster, analyst says
Economy
Forget U.S. debt, China's total borrowing is in 'a league of its own'—much worse and deteriorating faster, analyst says
By Jason MaMay 11, 2026
2 days ago
U.S. hotels are calling the World Cup a 'non-event' and 80% warn bookings are falling short of expectations, report finds
North America
U.S. hotels are calling the World Cup a 'non-event' and 80% warn bookings are falling short of expectations, report finds
By Sasha RogelbergMay 12, 2026
1 day ago
Microsoft’s CFO admits she joined the tech giant without even knowing her salary—and then missed her first day of work
Success
Microsoft’s CFO admits she joined the tech giant without even knowing her salary—and then missed her first day of work
By Preston ForeMay 11, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z and millennials are using ChatGPT like a 'life advisor'—but college students might be one step ahead
Tech
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z and millennials are using ChatGPT like a 'life advisor'—but college students might be one step ahead
By Sydney LakeMay 10, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.