29/05/24: Unit 2: How to prevent phone hacking and protect your cell phone

Traditionally a headache reserved for celebrities, smartphone-hacking concerns have crossed the VIP vs. everyone else blood-brain barrier and are now a legitimate concern for anyone who owns a cell phone.

But is this really a serious problem for us regular folks? Are our voicemail messages so interesting that someone would invade our privacy to listen in? Before we go barking up the narcissism tree, it’s best to examine what phone hacking is and whether you really need to worry about it.

The Security Risks of Phone Hacking

There are many types of phone hacking methods, ranging from hacking into a live conversation or into someone’s voicemail, and to hacking into data stored on one’s smartphone. While the fear of the unknown can keep anyone on edge, the person most likely to hack into your live conversation or voicemail will be someone that you already know, and in today’s mobile world, phone hacking continually grows as a security issue. As people increasingly store sensitive data on their mobile devices, the opportunity to exploit privacy weaknesses becomes more tempting to unscrupulous frenemies, exes or the occasional stranger.

There is a cottage industry of phone hacking software, ostensibly developed for legal uses, but that can be easily abused by anyone (password crackers aptly named John the Ripper and Cain and Abel are two examples). Opportunistic hackers can wreak havoc with data deletion or install malicious software that gathers bank account logins and confidential business emails. So, how can you make things tougher for hackers?

How to Secure Your Phone From Hackers

If you want to be proactive, there are several measures you can take to protect yourself against phone hacking, most of which involve common sense. In addition, there are advanced methods to ensure that your phone is as secure as possible (without losing its full functionality). For example:

Basic Phone Security Tips

For casual phone users, adhering to the basics is a great place to start when it comes to blocking simple hacking efforts:

 

  • Never leave your phone unattended. Keeping your phone with you at all times while in a public place is the first, best rule to follow.
  • Change your phone’s default passcode. Your phone likely comes with a simple, predictable default password, and those who know can use this to their advantage. Change your code to something more complex, and resist the usual “1234,” “0000” and “2580” codes that are commonly used.
  • Protect your PIN and Credit Card data. Use a protected app to store PIN numbers and credit cards, or better yet, don’t store them in your phone at all.

 

Advanced Ways to Prevent Phone Hacking

 

  • If you’re still worried about hacking, there are further steps you can take to protect yourself. However, taking things too far will defeat the purpose of having a smartphone at all.
  • Avoid unsecured public WiFi. Hackers often target important locations such as bank accounts via public WiFi that can often be unsecured due to relaxed safety standards or even none at all.
  • Turn off your autocomplete feature. By doing this, you can prevent stored critical personal data from being accessed.
  • Regularly delete your browsing history, cookies, and cache. Removing your virtual footprint is important in minimizing the amount of data that can be harvested by prying eyes.
  • Have an iPhone? Enable Find My iPhone. By turning the feature on in your settings, you’ll be able to locate your phone if you misplace it before the hackers can lay their paws on it.

 

Remember—if the thought of hacking has you tossing and turning at night, you can just turn the phone off, remove the battery and hide it under your pillow for some sweet lithium-ion induced dreams. Or, you can double down on securing your mobile devices with mobile security solutions offering secure web browsing and real-time defense against phishing attacks.

Please answer the questions.

  1. Have you ever been hacked? What happened?
  2. Which are some of the ways hackers can be dangerous to society?
  3. Which are some of the ways that they can be useful to society?

Taken from 

https://www.webroot.com/us/en/resources/tips-articles/how-to-prevent-phone-hacking-and-sleep-like-a-baby-again

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Comentarios

  1. GIANCARLO SALAS escribió:

    Have you ever been hacked? What happened?
    I personally have no experiences, but I can share some common scenarios like unusual behavior on their devices, such as unexpected battery drain, unknown apps, or strange text messages and calls. They could also see unauthorized transactions or access to accounts linked to your phone. Hacking is often due to weak passwords, using unsecured WiFi, or not having up-to-date security measures on their phones.

    What are some of the ways hackers can be dangerous to society?

    For example:

    a) Data theft: Personal information, such as bank details.
    Invasion of privacy: private communications and sensitive information that lead to blackmail or reputational damage.
    b) Economic Damage: Companies can suffer massive financial losses due to intellectual property theft.
    c) Espionage and threats to national security: Engaging in espionage, which represents a threat to national security.

    What are some of the ways they can be useful to society?

    a) Identification of security flaws.
    b) Improved Cybersecurity: Vulnerability assessments.
    c) Security Tool Development: Software that enhance security measures, making it difficult for malicious to succeed.
    d) Raise awareness: The importance of cybersecurity among individuals and organizations.
    e) Contribute to Law Enforcement: Collaborate with law enforcement agencies to track cybercriminals and provide information on the patterns and methods of cybercrime.

  2. Luis Rojas escribió:

    1) Have you ever been hacked? What happened?
    I’ve never been hacked. But I had a similar experience when my cellphone was stolen and the thieves used some of my installed application accounts.

    2) Which are some of the ways hackers can be dangerous to society?
    Nowadays I think hackers can damage society in different ways. For example, they could steal personal data from users and sell it. Actually, the personal data can be used to steal bank accounts, bad marketing, spread fake news, etc.

    3) Which are some of the ways that they can be useful to society?
    I think hackers couldn’t be useful to society, because its activity is illegal and it is always a harm to everyone.

  3. Marlon Busch escribió:

    About hacking, it happened to me once but on my laptop, due to which I lost several important files and had to delete and clean the laptop. Nowadays, there are computer thefts where thieves enter your bank account and begin making money transfers. Many times this theft occurs by visiting unknown web pages.
    I recommend that you have passwords with several different digits and change your password every 3 months, as well as not entering unused web pages.

  4. Erick Chávez Cardich escribió:

    Have you ever been hacked? What happened?
    Hopefully, I have not never been hacked. At home, we have a private Wifi net and in my job we use encrypted internet; so I could say that I am a little safe.
    Which are some of the ways hackers can be dangerous to society?
    Nowadays, everyone has access to a cellphone with internet and the social media / advisement & influencer keep showing and recommend several applications that can be dangerous for the people. It is very easy to be hacked: simply, you can open a suspicious email or you can click to a link and you will be in serious troubles.

    Which are some of the ways that they can be useful to society?
    In my opinion, only in a very few cases hackers can be useful for the society, because their activity is illegal. For example, hackers are very clever, they could use their intelligence, and help the police or the government to solve issues that they can not.

  5. Vanessa De la Cruz escribió:

    No, my accounts have not been hacked. But, if a friend’s email was hacked, they accessed their savings accounts and stole their money.
    Hackers usually complicate our lives, as they often duplicate our identity for malicious purposes. Most times to rob us.
    In my opinion, they could be useful to show the weaknesses of computer systems and propose security strategies.

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