Your Facebook account will probably get hacked and it will not be Facebook’s fault. The reality is that human beings are the weakest link when it comes to securing information. Information security technology has reached a point where you can manage it’s associated risks, but people’s behavior and attitudes are becoming increasingly complex to manage.
The modern hacker does not attempt to outright ‘crack’ your password, or gain access into your system using some kind of backdoor. They know that modern technologies would easily detect this and enable you to prevent future breaches. On the contrary the modern hacker wants to access the system as you. This would give them long-term access as opposed to a one-time ‘fix’.
This is the general modus operandi on any system that is of interest to the hacker, I have just chosen Facebook because that is where a majority of South Africans spend their time online.
Usually a hacker will hack your account when they have a MOM (not that mom). MOM is a common acronym in information security for Motive, Opportunity and Method. An ex or insecure lover for example, would probably have a Motive to access your account without you knowing over a period of time. Additionally, they would need an opportunity to do so and a Method that works such as guessing your password.
Celebrities often conveniently claim their accounts were hacked after some private media is leaked on their accounts. Often times what they mean is that THEY were hacked because the technology behind the platform itself is almost unbreachable. Let’s look at it this way.
1. You login to your Account at an internet cafe or another device that’s not yours, like the library, lab computer, or a friend’s phone and you forget to log-out (What do you anticipate is going to happen?)
2. You login through a browser, the browser asks if you want it to store the password, You Click “Remember” (What would you guess is going to happen?)
3. Your password is too easy NAME1993, FAVOURITEPHRASE123, GIRLFRIEND2016 (What do you reckon is going to happen if someone that knows you (or has studied you) starts guessing your password?).
The modern hacker has realised the robotic and resilient nature of technologies and has turned their efforts to the more gullible YOU. There are reports online where female hackers called their victims and pretended to be their girlfriends on the phone and asked for their login credentials! As things stand, YOU are your biggest threat to your information’s security online.
South Africa - Born Business Analyst, Innovator, Social Entrepreneur and Author hailing from a vibrant small town in the Free State called Parys. His talks challenge conventional thinking and have been heard all through out the country by diverse audiences.
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