Tech

The nine biggest tech flubs of 2014

From massive data breaches to company scandal, there was no shortage of tech failures in 2014. Check out some of the biggest blunders in tech below.

Mt.Gox loses bitcoins

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The Japanese-based bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox was once considered one of the biggest trading platforms for the cryptocurrency. But in March, the exchange lost 850,000 bitcoins belonging to 127,000 customers.

Later that month, about 200,000 bitcoins were recovered, but the rest are still missing. The company blamed the incident on a bug in the cryptocurrency's framework that enabled hackers to steal the virtual money.

Read More Mt.Gox says it found 200,000 bitcoins in 'forgotten' wallet

Amazon Fire phone

Amazon's 3-D Fire smartphone.
Justin Solomon | CNBC

The hype leading to the launch of Amazon's first smartphone in June was huge. But the company's gimmicky phone failed to impress either consumers or critics. The company was betting the phone's 3-D display would be a strong selling point, but alas, such was not the case.

Amazon has not disclosed how many phones it has sold, but the company dramatically slashed the cost of the device and reported a $170 million write-down in October.

Uber's ego

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Start-up Uber began the year as a still-emerging company, and ended 2014 a $40 billion tech and transportation behemoth.

That said, public relations doesn't seem to be Uber's strong suit, and the accumulations of mishaps have unquestionably damaged the company.

Flash points have included regulatory problems and allegations that it investigated journalists. (The company denies the allegations.) Add to that a general impression that CEO Travis Kalanick is aloof to public concernseven by Silicon Valley standardsand it makes sense that the company would hire former Obama adviser David Plouffe to help smooth out its image.

Read MoreHow Uber's $40 billion could become a problem

Heartbleed

Source: Heartbleed.com

The so-called "Heartbleed" bug was discovered in April and quickly became everyone's problem.

The bug was found in OpenSSL software, which is an encryption service used by most websites, and was a security hole that hackers could use to steal personal information.

Heartbleed forced the masses to have to change their passwords and even pushed tech giants like Google and Yahoo to add extra protections against the flaw.

Read More Ignored Heartbleed? You're a hacker's perfect prey

Tinder scandal

Source: gotinder.com

Executives at the hot dating app Tinder found themselves in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons when co-founder Whitney Wolfe filed an ugly sexual harassment lawsuit against the company.

Wolfe alleged that co-founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, who was also her former boyfriend, "subjected [her] to a barrage of horrendously sexist, racist and otherwise inappropriate comments, emails and text messages."

Mateen was suspended and the lawsuit was settled in September for $1 million without an admission of wrongdoing. Rad was forced to step down as CEO, although he still serves as president of Tinder and a member of the board.

Tinder's Sean Rad demoted from CEO to president
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Tinder's Sean Rad demoted from CEO to president

Home Depot hack

People walk by a sign in front of a Home Depot store in El Cerrito, Calif.
Getty Images

Data breaches at major retailers did not slow down in 2014. And Home Depot's massive breach topped the list when it came to the size of impact.

Read More As cyberthreats increase, big money chases patches

The company said in September that hackers had gained access to card information for about 50 million customers. And in November it said that about 53 million customer email addresses were also exposed as a result of the breach.

Apple celebrity photo hack

Jennifer Lawrence
Getty Images

Hackers posted nude photos of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities on the Internet after stealing their personal pictures from their iCloud accounts.

The incident couldn't have been more ill timed. The images surfaced about a week ahead of Apple's iPhone 6 event where it showed off its new devices and its new mobile payment system, Apple Pay.

While Apple denied that it has weak security that enabled the hackers to steal personal information, it added new features that would help keep hackers out of others' accounts after the breach.

Read More What Apple should do about cyberattacks

Microsoft's CEO's Karma speech

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella addresses the media in New Delhi, September 30, 2014.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella mastered the foot-in-mouth syndrome when he advised women to have "faith" in the system rather than ask for pay raises.

During an interview at the Grace Hopper Conference, Nadella was asked about his thoughts on what women should do if they are not comfortable asking for a raise. His answer landed him in some hot water.

Read More What would Microsoft CEO's daughters say?

"It's not really about asking for the raise but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises 0as you go along," Nadella said.

"And that I think might be one of the additional superpowers that, quite frankly, women who don't ask for a raise have. Because that's good karma. It'll come back, because somebody is going to know that is the kind of person that I want to trust," he added.

Nadella later formally apologized, admitting that he answered the question "completely wrong."

Read More Microsoft CEO apologizes for gender pay gap comments

The Sony breach

Movie posters for the film 'The Interview'
AFP | Getty Images

Lastly, the Sony Pictures hack was one for the books.

From embarrassing emails to personal information about employees and celebrities, the breach, which U.S. officials say was engineered by the North Korean government, led to a huge amount of sensitive data being published on the Internet.

Read More Sony hack reveals a new cold war—are you ready?

Hackers said the breach was in response to Sony's movie "The Interview," a spoof that includes a fictional plot to the assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

After threats surfaced of attacks on movie theaters showing the film, Sony initially said it would delay the release. But Sony backtracked and released the film to more than 300 independent movie theaters.

Read More Sony Pictures OKs Christmas Day opening for 'The Interview'

"We have never given up on releasing 'The Interview,' and we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day," Sony Entertainment Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton said in a statement.