Whether you call it the internet, the web, cyberspace, the digital landscape, or something else, the fact of the matter is security awareness is a crucial ingredient needed to avoid being the victim of a cyber-attack, cyber theft or any other cybercrime.
Ideally, awareness starts with self-education, research, and an unwavering desire to learn with passion and curiosity. With the democratization of information, there is no excuse for every cyber citizen to become a cyber security ‘awareness’ expert.
Many may wonder what is a hacker interested in on my home network or why they would they even care to access my end-point devices. That is a valid question, and we can explore that here a bit further.
The Link Within a Chain
You may be a link in a chain the cybercriminal is trying to figure out. The end of that chain could be a person of interest for them, and you could be part of a much grander scheme and a cyber-attack with an enormous scope.
There are many possibilities why that may take place. It is ok to ask these questions, but the main thing is never to underestimate the cyber enemy and always overestimate the hacker, cybercriminal, or cyber enemy.
The Social Dimension
Let’s start with the social-psychological dimension, which is often overlooked by many. Often the ‘hacker,’ the hacker’s accomplice, or a sub-contractor, someone you know or someone whom you recently “met” will work to gain your trust and, at some point, access some of your devices such as a laptop.
You may wonder why they would care to access your laptop or other personal devices. The answer may not be that obvious to you at first. You may work for a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company, and accessing some files and email is of significant value to the cybercriminal plot
Your “New” Friend
You may not connect the dot at first, but the cybercriminal masterminds have already plotted and connected the dots in a very coherent way. It is enough that your new “friend” asks you to access your laptop because their iPhone screen is broken and needs repair, and they need to “catch up on a couple of Gmails.” This catches you entirely off guard. With many login sessions in Chrome running, including internal company systems and cloud services already authenticated, the hacker can upload everything to their G-Drive in seconds or minutes.
VPN Awareness
VPN knowledge and awareness is another critical piece of the puzzle that any responsible cyber citizen should improve regularly. Besides the entertainment value gained from accessing music, movies, and shows without geo-restrictions, VPN will ensure your location is private, your ISP is private, and your data is private even in the most insecure WiFi networks.
VPN will also wholly mask all of your internet activity from your ISP and other prying eyes.
This is just a tiny start to your cyber awareness journey, and the more you invest in this journey, the more safe and pleasant your Cyber usage journey will be.
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