Republished from blog of Flipside - Social Media Marketing
I will ask you straight out! Do you feel safe online? If you answered yes, think again...
Unfortunately in modern times it's much easier than we think to intercept personal information of any kindwhich could be used by anyone to harm us. Let's not forget that the more technology advances the more our real and online lives tend to become equal. So we can easily see that the security of both is more than important.
The age of innocence in social media
In the early years of the invasion of social media in our lives, the tendency to create massive online relationships with people we didn't even know in person dominated our lives. Over the years this trend has been appeased but still the remnants of it exist.
Really, how many of us have taken the time to re-evaluate the friends we've made on social media over the past few years?
And the second question... Would we stand in the middle of a crowded square with a microphone and recount our daily lives? Probably not, as apart from the uncomfortable nature of the aforementioned move, we would subconsciously think that the information we would be passing on could possibly be harmful.
This is exactly what happens on social media, there is a multitude of people who could benefit at our expense from the information we put out.
Here are some basic safety principles when using social media and the internet in general:
- We should always have our profile locked and our data visible only to the people we choose.
- We should not make friends we don't know or know very little about.
- We avoid reporting on the movements and activities of these individuals.
- We try as much as possible to limit the posts concerning our daily schedule.
- Great care is also needed in posts related to the purchase of expensive products, as well as reviews of them.
- We never publish information about our exact home address. Those who are our true friends know very well where to find us.
- We do not post items that may further betray our personal data (e.g. car license plates).
- Photos from trips are best "uploaded" after returning from them. Travel is a means of relaxation and a complete break from everyday life. Let's not carry it with us.
- We make sure that we clean our computer cookies.
- We never connect to free access public wifi spots whose "owner" we do not know as it is very easy -if they want- for someone to steal the data of all the services we will use from this connection (social media, e-mail, web banking, etc.).
- We regularly scan our computer for malicious programs that could "export" our data to websites.
- Finally, we do not use the same security code for all the accounts we maintain.
In summary, information about travel, shopping, cars, showing off wealth, updating daily schedules, home photos, address disclosure, video unboxing, reviews and likes on expensive products can give a malicious person enough information to harm us.
Of course, all of the above constitute a high percentage of our online activities and their implementation greatly limits the experience of using social media and the internet in general, but let's keep the essence which is not to target and motivate any malicious internet user to engage with us.
Instead of an epilogue I would like to flashback to 2014 which was quite intense in terms of hacking. Let's not forget that the two biggest scandals that took place were none other than the Sony¹ cyberattack and the "leak" of personal moments of Hollywood celebrities². The interesting thing about the whole affair is not the 'juicy' details that were revealed, but the fact that the process was much simpler than we can imagine.
So beware because the danger in our online lives is just a few... clicks away!
But how do burglars work?
An international survey revealed that 78% of burglars use social media and various other internet technology tools to identify potential victims. Initially, they use the information we channel on social media to find out about our financial status, daily habits and travel schedule. For example, where we work, how far our home is from our workplace and what means we use to get around. We are also informed about the possibility of a trip by the check-ins we do when we arrive at our destination.
Of course you may wonder where they get our home address if we have not declared it. But of course from the EXIF DATA contained in the photos we upload. This data includes, among other things, the exact geographic location from which the photo was taken. This is why we should be more careful the next time we photograph our house.
The next step is the one we all know Google Maps. It is the easiest way to monitor a house and even without physical presence. By using Google Street view - which is a tool of Google Maps - you can get all the information you need before the final "hit". In particular, it can be informed whether the house is a maisonette or a detached house, in fact in this case the burglar has a complete picture of the exterior of the house. Indicatively, he can identify vulnerabilities such as old generation wooden windows, simple entrance doors (aluminium or wooden), also the existence or not of alarm systems and the existence of a garage. If it is an apartment in a block of flats, it can also obtain useful information such as the number of tenants (counting floors and balconies) and other details of the neighbourhood such as operating businesses, neighbouring blocks of flats, whether the street has lights, cameras or various other elements that would probably help to locate it.
So, combining all of the above, it could very easily be found outside our doorstep. Whether or not it manages to enter depends on how well we have shielded our space. In cases of apartment buildings where the breach is overwhelmingly carried out from the front door of the apartment, it is imperative to have a security door with armouring and state-of-the-art mechanisms as burglars are fully familiar with the older security systems.
Edited by:
Konstantinos Karalis
