Security is everyone's responsibility and it has become very necessary and paramount to protect ourselves from cyber attacks as we engage ourselves online on a daily basis. As technology is advancing and improving is the same way hackers are also advancing in their methods by using different social engineering. This is not the first time something like this is being discussed in the forum but I think it's necessary to be bringing it up on a timely basis in order to keep us abreast. Let quickly brush on the following techniques use by hackers and how to protect yourself from them.
Phishing is a type of cybersecurity attack which happens when malicious actors send messages (email to be precise) pretending to be a friend or a company so as to steal information or corrupt their devices.
Example of Phishing
This unfortunate love story started in the Philippines in the year 2000 and was delivered with the subject line I Love You along with instructions to read the attached email. The virus was tracked to an email address registered to an apartment in Manila, which led to Onel de Guzman. He created the Love Bug virus, not thinking it would reach as many people as it did.Within 24 hours of releasing the virus, it had spread across the world.Remember that it can be in form of link too and not necessarily need to be a file.
Smishing is similar to phishing just because it has a common goal. However, it uses deceptive text messages to manipulate victims into giving out sensitive personal information such as bank account details, credit card numbers and login credentials.
Example of Smishing
I have decided to call this lookalike walmart attack because their aim is to portray themselves as those big firms who you probably have transactions with, in other to trick you into believing they are rewarding you. At times, you can still get messages like this even if you have never used their services before. Sometimes, some amateur attackers just send these messages at random.Vishing is very similar to phishing with the exception that this uses phone calls. This is a manipulative practice of making phone calls or voice messages pretending to be from well known companies in order to make individuals to reveal personal information, such as bank details and credit/debit card numbers and more.
Example of Vishing
Have you ever received a phone call, telling you your account has issues and the person you are talking to is a supposed customer service agent? That is Vishing. They pretend that they are from the banks or other institutions that houses your private information. Their aim, is to get those data off you and use it in dangerous ways.How do we protect ourselves from being a victim of these attacks?
The simple way to avoid these attacks are by following the preventive measures which may include:
Don’t ever click on SMS or email you are sent from unknown sources. Go to the company's website for verification by typing their URL.
Check the names of the sender and most importantly, the links too. Does it make sense for a reputable organization to use bit.ly? Ask yourself that amidst others.
Never share private information over the phone. Its better you meet with the company physically to confirm.
Verify the number of the so called company that is calling you. Check their website or the internet to confirm if the numbers correlate. However, know that, numbers too can be cloned, so it’s better to just stick with not sharing sensitive information over online or phone call.
Always download your apps from playstore or apple store for android and apple device respectively because a malware named trojan can be embedded inside those Apps you download from untrusted sources. Better safe than sorry.
Do not visit sites that starts with Https because these are sites that are not secured with Tls(Transport Layer Security) or as it was previously known, Ssl (No more in use). Secured sites url should start with https.
A compilation of these tips and more on cyber security can be read via this
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