As technology advances, so are the skills of our modern hackers (unfortunately). No one is safe online, unless they know how to prepare themselves and then protect their personal data. And yes, this does concern you.
Now, how serious is the problem actually? To put it in perspective, let me just say that last year, there were 12.6 million people who became victims of identity theft and these people lost a total of $21 billion of their money.
You can be a casualty, a victim, anytime you login to a web service of any kind. Right now, the best solution is to know how you can protect yourself and your personal data from hackers. Where do hackers find your information? How do they attack? What are you doing wrong? You’ll know everything soon enough.
What Hackers Want
In a world where almost all devices can be connected to the internet, data vulnerability is at an all-time high. In 2012 going forward, hackers are after data – that’s card holder data to be exact. Identify theft is the primary reason why hackers want to get personal information.
- 98 percent of the card holder data stolen is used for credit card fraudulent transactions.
- 2 percent for confidential information and intellectual property.
- 1 percent for electronic protected health information.
- 1 percent for business financial account numbers.
With the 12.6 million victims last year, this equates to 1 victim per 3 seconds. And with the $21 billion total lost of income last year, this means the average household loses $4,900 due to identity theft.
The Data They Want
What exactly is the personal information they are looking for? This is personal data that can be used for identity theft. Take caution and protect this information more:
- Usernames and passwords.
- PIN.
- Social Security numbers.
- Phone and utility account numbers.
- Bank and credit card account numbers.
- Employment and student ID numbers.
- Drivers license numbers.
- Passport numbers.
- Professional license numbers.
- Insurance ID numbers.
- University or college financial aid information.
How Hackers Attack
Hackers are usually internet and software wizards, they can come up with multiple unsuspecting ways to get the information they want. Here’s how they do it:
- 47 percent happens through remote access.
- 26 percent through SQL Injection where hackers take advantage of wrong coding in a website.
- 18 percent through unknown methods of entry.
- 3 percent through remote code execution.
- 2 percent through client-side attacks.
- 2 percent through remote file inclusion and user interaction (interacting with a specific element).
- 1 percent through authorization flaw where unauthorized people can still gain access to data.
- 1 percent through physical theft where the hacker physically steals the credit card or computer.
Social Media Profiles
Social networking sites are a good place for hackers to get personal information. Usually, such personal information can be easily seen in the profile. Therefore, be careful what you put in your profiles as you will be vulnerable to security attacks.
Internet Networks
Sure, we all love to have free internet. We go to a café, search for a free Wi-Fi hotspot and connect. What we don’t know is that we can be victims of identity theft from connecting to internet networks itself.
Think your home Wi-Fi is safe enough? Think again. A skilled hacker can easily access your network and steal your personal data. The best way to protect your home network is to use a WPA-2 encryption. Sadly, there’s still 18 percent of internet users that use WEP encryption.
Wi-Fi hotspots are 89 percent unsecure. Hackers can simply set up a hotspot named Bart’s Coffee making you think that it’s free internet from a coffee shop. It’s not and the hacker will just steal your data once you connect. You wouldn’t have a clue what’s happening.
Malicious Email and Websites
These two things are quite common when you hear about protecting your computer from viruses. Experts tell us that we shouldn’t go to malicious websites and open emails from people we don’t know. Well, the same holds true for protecting your personal data. However, you must be extra cautious as hackers are finding new ways to get to you.
Hackers can research and dig up your contacts, so when they send you a spam email, it will look like it came from a person you know. Just know that 10 percent of spam messages are malicious and 7 percent of those spam emails contain links to malicious websites.
Hackers Getting Caught
Hackers can get away with credit card fraud. But due to the increasing number of attacks, investigators are more adamant and rigid in catching the bad guys.
- 48 percent of successful hacker detection is through regulatory detection with defense technologies.
- 25 percent through law enforcement agencies that identify and disrupt cyber criminal activities.
- 24 percent through self-detection. If you’re aware of your security measures, you can tell if they’ve been breached or not.
Data Protection
The most important question to ask right now is “How do I protect my data?” There are a number of ways that you can do this, but it is best that you try and cover all grounds for complete protection.
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Secure Passwords –
Always use a unique password; combine numbers, symbols, upper case and lower case letters. Also, avoid using the same password for different accounts. 60 percent of people use the same password on their accounts, making it more vulnerable to data theft.
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Secure Browsers –
Always make sure that you’re in a secure connection and always log out of any accounts once you’re done.
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Secure Network –
Disable auto-runs as it stops 50 percent of malware threats. Network attacks come from downloads that you didn’t start in the first place. In addition, don’t use default network settings because hackers can easily get into your network’s system.
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Secure Wi-Fi –
For home Wi-Fi, use a WPA-2 encryption protocol. For public Wi-Fi, use a VPN service and disable sharing.
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VPN Service –
Using VPN (Virtual Private Network) helps in hiding your IP address and securing your data. It protects your online data, encrypts all data and prevents theft and spying.
It’s a dog-eat-dog world in the virtual realm, so take extra measures to prevent being a victim. Use the information you’ve just read now and share it with others so they can also protect themselves from data theft.
Azalea is a passionate and experienced writer. You can find her at newInternetOrder.com – a site where you can get advice on online business for normal people. No hype, and no constant product pushing. Just genuine information. In her spare time, Azalea is interested in action-packed movies and harnessing positive vibes for a well-balanced lifestyle.