Rarely does a week go by without news of another hacking incident, whether it’s Chinese hackers accused of breaking in to The New York Times’ computer systems or Burger King finding its Twitter account taken over by pranksters.
Security threats aren’t new and have long been part of online life. But the increased attention on them makes now a good time to review ways you can protect yourself. If nothing here feels new, that’s good, as it means you’ve been doing the things you need to do to keep your accounts safe from hackers. Although there’s no way to completely eliminate threats, minimizing them will go a long way.
One of the best things you can do is to make sure your password is strong.
If someone’s able to guess the password to your email or Facebook account, that person can post or send embarrassing things on your behalf. Someone was able to access Burger King’s Twitter account recently and changed its profile picture to a McDonald’s logo. If a banking or Amazon account is involved, someone could pay bills or buy iPads under your name – with your money.
What’s worse, getting a password to one account is often a stepping stone to a more serious breach. Someone can use your email or Facebook account to send spam and scam messages to your friends, for instance. And because many services let you reset your password by sending an email to your address on file, someone with access to your email account can reset passwords and gain access to all sorts of things. If the compromised password is one you use for work, someone can snoop around for files on your employer’s network with trade secrets or customers’ credit card numbers.