HANDS ON
P R O T E C T I N G YO U R O N L I N E P R I VA C Y A N D PERSONAL DATA
The last few years have been marked by a plethora of data breaches online along with a prevalence in identity theft, phishing attacks, SIM card hijacking and more nefarious acts which often end up with victims losing their money, dignity and worse, their very identity through identity theft, making them liable to being barred from legitimate services like phone subscriptions, banking services and more. All these complications stem from the fact that many people do not take their online privacy seriously. People often dismiss just how much of their personal activities are exposed online. If you’re surfing the web, the queries that you type in, the websites that you browse and practically everything else that you do online is subject to potential scrutiny by your internet service provider and web browser.
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SHOUT 2019 BUMPER EDITION
Innocuous questions and bits of trivia that people leave all over their social media and other locations online all help to form a picture that a determined attacker can exploit. Simple facts that seem harmless on their own like your mother’s maiden name or where you first studied or even your pet’s name can all be used by an attacker attempting to brute force password recovery on your key email, banking or social media accounts. Bits and pieces of information like geotagging your pictures and locations on social media also help to fill in the blanks on your whereabouts and habits in order to mimic your identity.
WiFi connections where attackers can intercept communications and tap into what you’re typing, viewing and downloading.
Even if you’re fairly careful, data breaches can occur from the other side of the fence when those entrusted to hold that information in trust encounter intrusions and get their data sold or leaked online. Browsing the internet also has its share of hazards especially if you’re using public
All this means that online netizens need to be truly vigilant of what information they leave online, how and what they do online and how they connect to the Internet. To get started, here are a few crucial steps on protecting your online privacy and personal information.
Once hackers have collected enough data on you, they can attempt to hack into your personal emails, bank accounts and social media. They can even attempt to register fraudulent phone subscriptions or other services like postpaid accounts or credit cards in your name and then leave you with a humongous bill or even getting blacklisted or added to the CTOS list for something that you did not even purchase or do.
