As we are into 2021, we could not even think about a day without internet and social media. Grading from top class business to local stores, marketing and sales found a new platform through social media. The word ‘Far’ became irrelevant, because everything and everyone became so close to each other and the only distance they had was between the fingers and the screen/keyboard.
Rejoice human race! We have achieved this together through our efforts. Before that, let’s take a pause to analyze the worst side of our achievement.
A brief illustration of hacking
Social media hacking is method of invading others private account/media and getting access to them without the consent of the owner. The main motive behind this is to steal the restricted information and use them in a way that is beneficial for the hackers. The hackers do not to allow their identity to be disclosed in any manner. However, even if the awareness of social threats are carried out extensively, the sophisticated tools the hackers use make them unworthy.
The latest studies about the agenda of the hackers points out to 5 main reasons. They include:
- Steal money
- Promote political happenings
- Cyber-espionage
- Fame
- Fun
How do they do this?
Hackers are none but computer experts who are well aware of the loop holes of every social networking site. They use this technical know-how to break into others privacy. VPN and Dark web are most commonly used hacking tools because these tools assure to mask their identities online. As per internet sources three popular methods of attack include Dumpster diving, Role playing and spear-phishing.
Dumpster diving is the method of fishing around through the garbage of other people. This helps the hacker to understand about the habit or activities of the owner or organizations. Information retrieved from discarded property allow them to create a clear cut picture of the target. Discarded phone books or hard drives that has not been scrubbed clean properly and still contains accurate information may serve a good opportunity for the hackers.
Role playing is a technique in which the hacker creates a false image of a person, may be a duplicate identity of a renowned personality and making others to believe they are real ones. They extract personal information through chat conversations or phone calls. Spear-phishing is one of the method in which the social hacks spam their victims by releasing sensitive information about an individual or an organization. In this scenario, individuals in an organization receive spams calls or mails addressed in the name of their higher officials. Fooled by these tags, people share information and personal passwords believing that they are still in a secure environment.
Cases reported
- Game of thrones
The popular TV series Game of Thrones on HBO has nearly 7 millions followers on Twitter making it ripe for the picking where hackers are concerned. In August of 2017, a group called Ourmine appeared to take control of the main HBO accounts, including the Game of Thrones feed. OurMine has a reputation for hacking high profile Twitter accounts. In fact it recently hacked Facebook co-founder Mark zuckerberg, Netflix, Google chief executive SundarPichai and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.
- Amnesty International
Recently, several high-profile Twitter accounts were hacked by an anonymous group. Accounts such as The European Parliament, Forbes and Amnesty International fell victim.
What can be done to avoid social hacking?
- Stay alert
Be very attentive and careful while using social media. Keep up your senses to note any suspicious activity or
abnormalities that take place in your account. Stay away from unauthorized Ads and do not believe in everything that they show on screen. Clearly read every privacy policy that pops up before accepting it blindly.
- Pay attention to risks
As a social media user be aware of the risks that are lurking around social media. Always log out of your social media accounts after use. Try to clear your cache regularly. Passwords are the break that helps hackers to get into your account. Change the password at certain intervals. This may help you in the long run.
- Run regular security checks
Security checks are major method to stay safe and protect your account. This is not a long process, but you may find flaws in your security that you didn’t know existed. Check the apps that are connected to your social media. Ask yourself if those apps are useful ones, if not try to avoid them. Run a thorough inspection and make sure that your account does not have a duplicate one.
Every single discovery of mankind served a purpose as well as a threat. It is when we understand both these criteria’s, we learn to live. Stay safe!
