Nowadays, our entire life is reduced to an electronic device, buthow can I protect my data on the Internet?We store the most important information for us on a smartphone or computer; from bank details to corporate information or personal data. Therefore, it is necessary to reinforce security as much as possible on these devices, to prevent them from becoming a target for cybercriminals.
What can digital attackers do with my personal data?
One of the questions we ask ourselves most often when we think about cyberattacks is why hackers want our personal data. The reality is that there are several reasons why cybercriminals steal personal data from their victims.
Firstly, it allows them to impersonate a person and carry out economic or commercial transactions of any kind by deceiving their contacts. Another important motivation is to obtain relevant information and data from large companies in order to subsequently request a financial ransom for them or sell the information to other people.
In addition, one of the most common dangers is that if they manage to access one password, they are likely to access the rest of the passwords you have or they may be able to access different accounts for which you use the same password or similar versions.
To make it as difficult as possible for cybercriminals to access cameroon whatsapp data our passwords, it is important to take into account certain recommendations for use, as well as being aware of all the types of fraud that can be committed through password theft.
Main attacks to steal passwords on the Internet
The variety of methods hackers use to obtain their victims' passwords is wide. However, we distinguish between two major types: random theft and strategic theft.
Random data skimming involves trying different random combinations of letters and numbers until the correct password is found in each case. Although it is a “random” method, because no personal information is taken into account, it requires significant technological sophistication.
Strategic theft , on the other hand , goes one step further and involves all the methods of password theft that are obtained thanks to the knowledge that hackers have about their victims. Below, we show some of the most common of both types according to the National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE):
Dictionary attack
This is one of the types of random theft, and it consists of entering different passwords automatically into a software that tests all the words in the dictionary as possible passwords. There are also some more advanced software programs that collect basic personal information, such as birth dates or names of relatives, which they try randomly.
Password spraying
In this case, we are referring to the use of passwords that hackers have obtained from a group of accounts. For example, if they manage to steal the password of the employees of a company . They can also use programs that limit the number of access attempts to avoid being detected.
Phishing, smishing, vishing and warshipping
All of these variants refer to a type of theft that begins with an action in which cybercriminals involve their victims without their knowledge, through an email, text message or a call. Here are some examples:
Phishing : These are emails that you receive, usually urgently, that seek to get you to click on a specific link. These emails appear to come from entities such as a bank, a ministry or a well-known company, and under this identity they ask you to enter your private data, such as the username and password to access your account. To do this, they perfectly imitate the "official" style of the entities. If you fall into the trap, you will fill in the data on the page you have reached after clicking on the email.
Smishing : This method follows the same modus operandi as the previous one, except that instead of an email, you receive an SMS with a link to click on and land on the page where you are asked for your personal data and private keys.
Vishing : In this case, the way hackers contact you and try to obtain your private information is through a phone call.
Warshipping – The latest technique involves sending a virus that you install unwittingly by clicking on a link or downloading a file. The cybercriminal will then have access to all the credentials you have stored on the device you install it on.