What Is Hacking and How Does It Work?

Anyone connected to the internet is at risk of being hacked. There are 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide, which is 59.5 percent of the global population.

Data breaches are constantly happening to businesses. The same is true for home networks, but we may not even realize it.

By having multiple layers of security, you can reduce your risk of a hacker breaking in.

The Hackers

Billions of people are connected to the internet, some of them are up to no good. These bad people who use computers for nefarious purposes are called hackers. Hackers are usually out to get money, but that is not the only reason they hack.

• Personal information – SSN, Name, Address, Phone, Credit Card, etc.. can be used to steal you identity, take out credit in your name, access your online accounts.
• Blackmail – Hackers can extort money from you if they get private information or files about you. You may have medical conditions you don’t want anyone to know about or pictures/videos that you don’t want to be put on social media.
• Sell Your Data – Hackers can bypass you and go strait to the Dark web to sell your data.
• Encrypt Your Data – Convert your files (document, pictures, videos, etc.) so that they inaccessible by you. They will offer to give back your files if pay them to decrypt your files back to normal.
• Hijack your PC or Phone – Use your device unknowingly by you as a bot or for mining. A bot is short for robot and is a program that runs and gives remote access to who ever controls it. Mining programs use your computer resources (CPU, Video & Memory) to solve mathematical equations. When they do, they (hacker) get rewarded with some type of cryptocurrency.
• Notoriety – Sometime a hacker wants to cause havoc just for fun or to become popular amongst other hackers.

Breaches / Break Ins

A data breach is when a hacker gets unauthorized access to a device or network. Hackers have a lot of knowledge of computer systems and networks. They use these skills to break in and steal data. Even if a hacker is not skilled, there are many tools that can be used to exploit vulnerabilities in our devices. This is why we need to update our devices whenever there are security updates.

Private information is stolen and either sold to other criminals or used to extort money. We see this all the time, there are news stories just about every week (ex: Data breaches). From large corporations to small businesses, no one is safe. This also includes you and your home network.

You may not even realize that information about you is stored on company servers. And this information could have been leaked onto the internet, making you and your account susceptible to fraud and phishing.

Check if your information was ever leaked: ‘;–have i been pwned?

Improve Your Security

Here are several things you can do today to improve your security.

1. Make sure you update your router’s firmware.
2. Change the default “admin” password on your router.
3. Update your operating system (Windows, MAC, Linux, etc.) and Apps
4. Have backups of your important data.
5. Use unique and complex passwords for each of your online accounts
6. Avoid posting sensitive information on social media

Looking to up your network security? Send me a message