Technologies That Can Make You A Victim To Cyber-Attacks

Technology furtherance has made a lot of things possible and the modern world has become so addicted to the lifestyle and convenience inflicted by the technology. Whether it is Artificial Intelligence or Internet of Things, you are using these technologies and products powered by these making things manageable.

The security loopholes of the latest technologies have been mentioned. However, the technologies that we use in our day to day life can’t be trusted completely as well! The devices and programs could make you vulnerable to cyber attacks.

In this post, we have listed some of the most used technologies which are not as reliable as you think! Let’s have a look!

1. Smart Security Systems

An extra eye on your house seems to have become an important part of a protective detail. These systems enable you to arrange through hours of footage saved in the cloud. Also, AI can be used to recognize familiar faces who come to your door.

Although, security systems also come with imperfections. A cybersecurity research team came across a bug in smart security cameras named Swann which showed footage made from one house to other houses. This could be a disaster if the issue would have been noticed by hackers instead of the research team. They could have used this as an advantage to spy on people using the security system.

2. USB Drives

USB or Flash drive improves the accessibility, as it allows you to move files from location to another. But it is also a easy way for hackers to corrupt the USB by storing worms or other malware. The US military suspected them dangerous and banned them years ago.\However, it is not banned everywhere else. Many people or businessmen use USB drives as they don’t understand the risk involved when you connect to the Internet while using a USB drive.

3. Smart Speakers

Smart speakers with a digital assistant such as Google Home, Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, comes with a lot of features to help users. Cybersecurity researchers have suspected them to be vulnerable to a lot of threats.

Some of the threats include person controlling speakers with supersonic commands (normal human can’t hear) however, the speakers catch the sound when it is implanted in YouTube videos or some other content.

Researchers also came to know that hackers could design smart speaker apps which appears to be legal, but it is a mastermind behind the cyber-attacks. These speakers are wired in such a way that even though we have closed the apps, they continue recording conversations and other noises in the house and forward them to criminals in the background.

4. Dongles

Along with USB drives, came Dongles which made USB ports useful than ever as they enhance performance by rendering additional features. Good example of dongles is Chromecast or smart TV dongle which provides you with additional content.

Cybersecurity researchers under an experiment hacked a dongle provided by an insurance company to track driving habits of a user. Upon hacking, the specialists were able to enable or disable brakes, control windshield wipers of the vehicle and more.

This is not the only example of such threats. One such issue affected Amazon Fire Stick. The hackers installed crypto mining malware which was concealed and didn’t show up running apps list. It made the internet connection slow and also made Fire Stick perform sluggishly.  Along with this, you can detect the presence of malware when it displays the word, “test” along with the Android bot icon on the screen. The issue can be fixed by resetting the dongle’s settings to default.

Also Read : Top Cybersecurity Facts, Figures & Statistics Of This Year

5. Wi-Fi Network

Wi-Fi network is quite a popular source of using the internet, but it is also the mode of the internet which can leave us vulnerable. That’s why hackers take benefit of it whenever they get a chance. Also, hackers can create illegal, public Wi-Fi networks with genuine names which seem to be real.

Also, a research highlights that it is very important for a user to keep the Wi-Fi network password to themselves, especially if you have a smart home system. Also, keep your smart home app to yourselves as if anyone gets an access to it and wants to take a toll on you, can alter the settings of the system and make living in your own house unfavorable.

6. Web Browsers

We access the internet with the help of web browsers, without them, wouldn’t it be very inconvenient? However, this is another mode for hackers to control or hack your computer without your permission. All these cybercriminals want is a loophole to make their way to invade your privacy. One of the bugs which was popular in 2018 April infected the Windows computer due to a loophole in IE. The bug used malicious MS Word file to infect the systems.

This is not it! There are other several similar examples of the matter. Vega Stealer is another malware which steals credit card credentials when people input the details using Firefox or Chrome browsers. Besides this, it also steals data from Excel and Word files.

Another way to infect the browsers is browser plugins. Hackers developed browser plugins which also gets listed in the web stores of browsers, giving them a legal stamp. As the extension is approved by stores, it is changed to malicious update, therefore infect the user whoever download the add-ons.

7. Smartphones

The smartphone is a device used the most of all in the list. The device is vulnerable to threats due to the use of the internet on it. The hackers develop apps which appear to be legit but have a malware in the background ready to infect your device. So, as you download the app, your device gets infected.

Also, smartphones can get infected through SMS phishing, wherein infected links are sent to your phone via SMS.

The issue is not limited to the hoax apps, it goes beyond it! An issue wherein Amnesty International showed that hackers installed a spyware named Pegasus through WhatsApp. This is not the only case.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, these technology gadgets are useful and have made your life manageable. However, as researchers have revealed the loopholes, it is important that we take care of privacy and security as well, rather than relying on them technology completely.

Must Read : What Threats Do Third-Party Tools Bring Along?

So, always be proactive as it could save you from a lot of technological disasters.