Mass surveillance, stolen data, passwords and
misused sensitive information; it seems that there is so much to worry
about these days when it comes to your online privacy. All most people want is
to browse the web and enjoy its treats instead of bumping into
malware or other problems, right?
Then you read about things occurring online that
make your fears grow even more. Two years ago a website appeared that has
been streaming live footage of as many as 70,000 unsecured cameras connected to the internet. At that
point, shots of company backyards, restaurants, schools – as well as thousands
of private homes – became available online to anyone who cared to watch.
Since then, the number of cameras streaming on that
site has been trimmed down to about fifth of its former size and the current
list no longer contains any private homes. But this incident has proven just
how vulnerable devices connected to internet, without protection and the care
of their owners, can be.
More video, more vulnerability
Video rules the internet today and webcams are
built into practically every new laptop, smartphone and tablet being sold to
users. Apart from the upside this brings to remote communications between
people, it has also led to multiple publicly renowned cases of misuse, where victims have been recorded in their most private
moments and subsequently blackmailed by cybercriminals.
Also, today’s web contains even more devices, which
prove to be vulnerable to cyberattacks, such as routers. The level of their
possible misuse ranges from “just” hijacking the data bandwidth from the person
paying the bill, to turning these devices into malicious botnets or even worse,
exploiting them to launch DDoS attacks on other targets online.
Frankly, without protection or at least users’
minimum effort – such as changing the router’s default password – almost any
device could end up in the crosshairs of the bad guys. A reliable security
solution can prevent misuse by malware as well as help the owner recognize weak
spots and fix them.
Security solutions
So what are the things you need to take care of
right now? For starters, tape over your webcam until you can ensure it’s
properly protected by security software. Just look at Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg or FBI director James Comey, both of whom use this minimalist
approach.
Have you ever even thought about router security?
Many users just plug the device in and forget about it. So do at least one
thing: change the factory-set password protecting the router. It’s way too easy
for attackers to find out the default names and passwords for almost any brand
and type. And with online tools – such as Shodan – allowing them to search for internet-connected
devices, security solutions are a must to help keep out malicious actors.