The recent Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp outage provided each of us with a very real potential concern.
What if hackers implemented cyberattacks that simultaneously and completely shut down the backbone of our entire communications system?
While it appears that the stoppage was due to an internal Facebook error, the question persists: Could hackers successfully attack the most sophisticated platforms on the planet, from Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp to Google and Twitter?
They already have. Consider that hackers:
Stole the personal data of 533 million Facebook users early this year
Hacked Twitter last year when 130 high-profile users and corporate accounts such as Apple and Uber were compromised
Invaded more than 30,000 Microsoft accounts
According to reports, hackers currently deploy millions of daily attempts at these targets, any one of which would be considered “the holy grail” to disable. With so much focus on high-profile targets, why should you and I be concerned?
The answer is simple: Because you and I are the “low-hanging fruit” that is easy to pick.
Oh, sure, a hacker or hacking network will earn incredible notoriety by taking down a social media giant, but that will take an inordinate amount of time with minimal likelihood of success.
These hackers are sending out thousands — even tens of thousands — of attacks simultaneously with a single keystroke. There are two massive, easy-to-attack targets: you and me as individuals and the companies that we work for or own.
Consider this statistic from dataprot.net: 57% of people who have already been scammed in phishing attacks still haven’t changed their passwords.
You and I as individuals are at risk because we don’t personally employ IT/cyber experts. Using our laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone leaves us vulnerable because we most likely get lazy with easy-to-remember passwords, such as the name of our first pet, maiden name, birthday, favorite vacation destination, or children’s names.
If you operate a company that conducts business online, know that 33% of account-compromise victims have stopped doing business with companies and websites that leaked their credentials.
All it takes is just one employee — even a temp worker — to open an email and click a damaging link. To protect yourself and your company, here is what to look for:
An email or text from a friend who normally sends a message but, for some strange reason this time, sends only a clickable link — maybe even a joke
A clickable link with an address that makes no sense to you (I prefer links that begin with “https” to show they are secure sites and for the link to reference at least something I’m familiar with — espn.com, bbq.com, etc.)
The email address is not quite the same as the address you normally hear from (instead of [email protected], the address is [email protected])
We as individuals and businesses are at risk if we do not employ a third-party password service that allows us to create a multitude of different passwords and remember just the one for logging into that service. The more complex our password is with numbers, letters, and symbols, the more effective that password will be.
With the average person having 80-100 passwords, developing a protocol or structure is essential. Anything less leaves you and your company wide open to hacking and to more hassles than you can ever imagine in straightening out your life and your business.
In medical terms: You are in critical condition. Act like it.