Cyprus Mail 24 June 2020 -by Cyprus Mail Guest Columnist
According to Forbes, an estimated 1.7 billion dollars is lost to hackers annually, and this figure will keep rising as we continue to advance technologically. Hackers are becoming smart, more aggressive, and more creative in their attack. According to a study by Maryland University, at least one attack occurs every 39 seconds, implying that in a year, at least one in every three people becomes a victim of cyber-attack globally.
Here are the Favourite hacker techniques that you should understand to protect yourself.
In 2019, the story of a UK CEO who transferred $243,000 to hackers thinking he was paying the suppliers broke the internet. The attackers responsible, a British firm, identified as Three times the company used artificial intelligence to mimic the voice of the company’s CEO. The video of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, claiming that he controls the future using ‘stolen data’, demonstrates how damaging deep fake is becoming. Other notable leaders, celebrities, and politicians have had to pay millions in ransom or risk their‘pornographic videos’; being released online. Such attacks demonstrate how far hackers are willing to go, to steal your identity.
Expert investigation revealed that the hackers used deep fake techniques to manipulate victims. The method which has been criticized by world leaders, including the CEO of Facebook, uses GAN (generative adversarial network) to create forgeries in the form of videos and audios. The technique uses the concept of machine learning, with one machine creating the video and the second machine detecting forgery and authenticity of the video. The process is repeated several times until the second machine cannot detect any fraud in the audio or video.
- Phishing
Phishing is one of the oldest tricks used by hackers, but it is quite useful since hackers keep inventing new ways to attack. Under this technique, hackers trick an unsuspecting individual into clicking on an attachment or an embedded link. When you click on the attachment or the link, a malware code or malicious software is downloaded to your computer. Once they have access, hackers trick an individual into entering their sensitive information like passwords or credit card info into a bogus site.
- Bait and Switch
Bait and switch is a new strategy that is hacking, though it has been in retail space for ages. In this technique, hackers bait unsuspecting individuals with attractive adverts. Hackers purchase advertising space and make the adverts enjoyable to compel individuals to click on the adverts. Once you click on them, you are directed to a fake site with malicious malware and infect your computer or browser with the malware. The trick is called bait and switch, one is lured to click on the adverts, and the switch occurs when you get redirected to another site. The last trick in bait and switch is advertising a high-quality, low-cost product. Once you click on the product, your computer is infected with malware, and you end up being a victim of hackers.
- Cookie theft
To understand cookie theft, let’s begin by understanding what a cookie is. The basic definition of a cookie is a small file that stores information regarding your integration with a website. For instance, when you visit an eCommerce site, the owner uses cookies to track your purchase journey, products searched, and other details regarding your shopping experience. In some instances, a website will store your login credentials; cookies do this. Thus, cookies are harmless unless they get into the wrong hands.
Hackers use cross-site scripting, or XSS attacks to steal cookies. To understand this, let’s say you visit a website and leave your comments on the site. Ideally, websites accept comments written in plain text, but hackers can use malicious codes in the comment section, which is then sent to the website’s database. Once they gain access to the database, they can steal cookies and other confidential information and use the cookies to access personal information.
These attacks demonstrate how hackers are becoming more versatile in their field and give you a reason to improve your cybersecurity. While governments have legislation and policies meant to deter the attackers, more needs to be done. One way of protecting yourself is by choosing a SaaS development services provider who understands cyber threats and cybersecurity. Your developer should understand and implement cybersecurity solutions like encryption, access management, firewalls, and anti-virus to prevent cyber-attacks on your website, blog, or system.
