• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Articles
  • News
  • Events
  • Advertize
  • Jobs
  • Courses
  • Contact
  • (0)
  • LoginRegister
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS
      Articles
      News
      Events
      Job Posts
    • Twitter
Datafloq

Datafloq

Data and Technology Insights

  • Categories
    • Big Data
    • Blockchain
    • Cloud
    • Internet Of Things
    • Metaverse
    • Robotics
    • Cybersecurity
    • Startups
    • Strategy
    • Technical
  • Big Data
  • Blockchain
  • Cloud
  • Metaverse
  • Internet Of Things
  • Robotics
  • Cybersecurity
  • Startups
  • Strategy
  • Technical

Ways Hackers Steal Your Data (And How to Defend Yourself)

Vikas Agrawal / 4 min read.
May 15, 2017
Datafloq AI Score
×

Datafloq AI Score: 71.33

Datafloq enables anyone to contribute articles, but we value high-quality content. This means that we do not accept SEO link building content, spammy articles, clickbait, articles written by bots and especially not misinformation. Therefore, we have developed an AI, built using multiple built open-source and proprietary tools to instantly define whether an article is written by a human or a bot and determine the level of bias, objectivity, whether it is fact-based or not, sentiment and overall quality.

Articles published on Datafloq need to have a minimum AI score of 60% and we provide this graph to give more detailed information on how we rate this article. Please note that this is a work in progress and if you have any suggestions, feel free to contact us.

floq.to/OvN7L

For non-technophiles, online communication is as simple as clicking send in an email client. But in reality, the entire process includes a series of precise mechanisms that took decades to develop.

Suppose you are to send a photo of your last trip to Panama. Upon sending, the picture’s data gets broken down into packets that are typically no bigger than 1,500 bytes each. Once these packets reach the intended recipient, a computer reassembles them back into an image ready to be viewed by humans.

Today, internet technology has become so efficient that ‘on an average internet connection ‘up to 5.1 megabytes of data can be transferred in a second. The only problem is that data in transit is susceptible to digital eavesdroppers or more popularly known as hackers.

How Hackers Steal Data

A hacker has many tricks up his sleeve. If their goal is corporate sabotage, they can leverage a network of infected computers or botnets’ to launch a Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attack. They can also infiltrate networks by injecting malware, such as keyloggers’ that track everything a user types.

Luckily, there is a straightforward solution that can prevent these common cyber threats. For everyday internet users, a free tool like Malwarebytes should be enough to block most malware attacks. If you’re a website owner who’s worried about DDoS, then you can use protection platforms like CloudFlare that offer free plans.

But as online communications advance, so do the techniques of hackers:


Computer LED Lights

It’s been recently discovered that hackers can potentially steal sensitive information through indicator LED lights, particularly the ones found on hard drives. According to researchers, these lights are capable of up to 6,000 blinks per second, which can be recorded, sent, and decoded like Morse code.


Interested in what the future will bring? Download our 2023 Technology Trends eBook for free.

Consent

Once way to avert such an attack is to unplug the infected device from the internet, thus, preventing hackers from retrieving the information. But the ideal solution, however, is to prevent hackers from implanting the malware that allows them to decode your computer’s LED lights in the first place. This can be done via USB or SD card, which means any adequate anti-virus or a simple security scanner like USB Disk Security or USB DriveSecurity by ESET can help you stay protected.

Cellphones

Do you frequently exchange sensitive information through phone calls or text messages thinking you can communicate privately and securely? Plenty of evidence shows that you’re wrong. As a matter of fact, a skilled hacker only needs your cellphone number to be able to read your texts, hear your calls, and track your location even with your GPS off.

This is due to huge security flaws in SS7 or Signaling System Seven, which all phones use to communicate across different networks. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do when it comes to solving this vulnerability. Instead, you can opt for mobile apps that allow encryption like Telegram, iMessage, and WhatsApp. For calls, opt for services that utilize VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol, which are not tied to mobile networks.

Phishing Scams

Despite being one of the oldest techniques hackers use to steal information, up to 80,000 users fall victim to phishing scams every single day. Typically, hackers execute phishing scams through email blasts that mimic real emails from any service provider you trust be it a local store or a bank.

Being proactive is important if you want to avoid falling victim to phishing scams. In case the email requires you to send or input your login credentials, be sure to verify the request with the company first. And the best way of doing so is through official hotline numbers or support email addresses.

Local WiFi Router

Hackers sometimes don’t have to look far to obtain access to your local network. Regardless if you’re running a local small business or surfing from home, they can log in to your network using your router’s default administrator credentials. After all, these credentials can easily be obtained from the web simply by searching for default router passwords .

A quick fix is to change your router’s administrator access credentials. Usually, you can access the router admin panel with an address that starts with 192.168.’ and ends with a few more digits. Simply refer to your router’s manual or contact the manufacturer for assistance.

Lastly, be wary of free WiFi networks’ in public places as hackers sometimes use them to monitor your online activities. A rule of thumb is to avoid public networks without a proper identification. But in case you really need online connectivity, consider using a Virtual Private Network or VPN service to encrypt your online connection.

Categories: Cybersecurity
Tags: Data security, hackers, technology

About Vikas Agrawal

Vikas Agrawal is a start-up Investor & co-founder of the Infographic design agency Infobrandz that offers creative and premium visual content solutions to medium to large companies. Content created by Infobrandz are loved, shared & can be found all over the internet on high authority platforms like HuffingtonPost, Businessinsider, Forbes, Tech.co & EliteDaily.

Primary Sidebar

E-mail Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates daily and to hear what's going on with us!

Publish
AN Article
Submit
a press release
List
AN Event
Create
A Job Post

Related Articles

How BlaBlaCar Built a Practical Data Mesh to Support Self-Service Analytics at Scale

March 23, 2023 By Barr Moses

IMPACT: Operational & Business Transformation Summit

March 23, 2023 By carmen.cimino

A Beginner’s Guide to Reverse ETL: Concept and Use Cases

March 22, 2023 By Tehreem Naeem

Related Jobs

  • Software Engineer | South Yorkshire, GB - February 07, 2023
  • Software Engineer with C# .net Investment House | London, GB - February 07, 2023
  • Senior Java Developer | London, GB - February 07, 2023
  • Software Engineer – Growing Digital Media Company | London, GB - February 07, 2023
  • LBG Returners – Senior Data Analyst | Chester Moor, GB - February 07, 2023
More Jobs

Tags

AI Amazon analysis analytics application applications Artificial Intelligence BI Big Data business China Cloud Companies company costs crypto Data design development digital environment experience finance financial future Google+ government Group health information machine learning market mobile news public research security services share skills social social media software strategy technology

Related Events

  • 6th Middle East Banking AI & Analytics Summit 2023 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 10, 2023
  • Data Science Salon NYC: AI & Machine Learning in Finance & Technology | The Theater Center - December 7, 2022
  • Big Data LDN 2023 | Olympia London - September 20, 2023
More events

Related Online Courses

  • Intel AI Fundamentals
  • Big Data – Capstone Project
  • Data Platform, Cloud Networking and AI in the Cloud
More courses

Footer


Datafloq is the one-stop source for big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence. We offer information, insights and opportunities to drive innovation with emerging technologies.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent

  • Personalization Vs. Hyper-Personalization: Benefits, Limitations and Potential
  • Explaining data products lifecycle and their scope in management
  • Microsoft Power BI -The Future of Healthcare’s Most Important Breakthrough
  • The Big Crunch of 2025: Is Your Data Safe from Quantum Computing?
  • From Data to Reality: Leveraging the Metaverse for Business Growth

Search

Tags

AI Amazon analysis analytics application applications Artificial Intelligence BI Big Data business China Cloud Companies company costs crypto Data design development digital environment experience finance financial future Google+ government Group health information machine learning market mobile news public research security services share skills social social media software strategy technology

Copyright © 2023 Datafloq
HTML Sitemap| Privacy| Terms| Cookies

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp

In order to optimize the website and to continuously improve Datafloq, we use cookies. For more information click here.

settings

Dear visitor,
Thank you for visiting Datafloq. If you find our content interesting, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter:

Did you know that you can publish job posts for free on Datafloq? You can start immediately and find the best candidates for free! Click here to get started.

Not Now Subscribe

Thanks for visiting Datafloq
If you enjoyed our content on emerging technologies, why not subscribe to our weekly newsletter to receive the latest news straight into your mailbox?

Subscribe

No thanks

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Marketing cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!