Recent Security Breaches
By: Declan O’, Sophia C, Sharon F, Lexi L, Pearce B, Euan J, and Gus F
Hackers
As many of you should know, hackers are dangerous to the world of technology.
But what exactly is a hacker? A hacker is a person that illegally tries to gain access
to unauthorized information. With the advancement of technology, hackers are able
to hack into large breaches of data instead of just hacking people one by one. This
can be very harmful to the customers, stock market, and businesses. Nowadays, we
have security officers just to help lower the damage hackers can do and to keep us
and our information safe.
What can Hackers Do?
A list of things that hackers can do are:
Obtain and hijack information such as your Social Security number, names, addresses
- , birthdays, passwords, usernames, and more
Sell your personal information for money
Create counterfeit, or fake accounts using your information
Use information for blackmailing
Make purchases with your money
Abuse and use your Social Security number
Shut down websites
Create “online traffic jams”
Why Do Hackers Do This?
Why do hackers want to cause so much disruption? Instead of looking at hacking
as a threat to the economy, some hackers think of it as more of a hobby and do it
for the enjoyment and for the adrenaline rush of being able to hack into a system.
Hackers also hack to steal information that could be important and crucial to
people. Additionally, they also hack to leak and spread information to undermine
rivaling businesses. One reason they are able to do this are by guessing easy and
simple passwords many people use, which leads us into our next topic.
How to Keep Your Password Safe
Keeping your password safe is very important. Don't use your same password for
many different websites. And don’t use passwords like “password” because people
can easily guess that and then hack you. Some bad passwords include birthdays,
dog’s names, simple, or often used passwords like “123456”. They can take
control over your money and possessions, and you can be in big trouble if they get
your password, so it is important to keep your password protected.
To make safe passwords you can include lowercase and uppercase letters. You can
also use numbers, and symbols like dollar signs, hashtags, and asterisks. Also, you
can make your password longer, but try to remember it!
Recent Security Breaches
There have been many recent security breaches that have impacted many people.
One example of a recent security breach is Target. In the winter of 2013, Target
suffered from a large data hack. The hackers could obtain much as $10,000. The
breach caused as many as 40 million credit and debit cards to be impacted, but that
number grew to 70 million.
Other companies like Yahoo and Equifax recently suffered from large data breach
attacks at similar numbers of costs and number of cards and people impacted.
Equifax is a banking company, and when it got hacked, even people that don’t use
Equifax still were in danger of getting information leaked. Almost half the U.S.
was impacted by this. Yahoo had all 3 billion people that used it getting
information stolen this year. It was recorded as the biggest hack in history!
You should keep your password safe in order to protect yourself from hackers.
How to Stop Hackers
You can’t exactly stop hackers, but you can prevent them for using your
information. Ways you can monitor your accounts are by checking them daily.
You will be able to tell to see if things have been bought on your credit card that
you or your family did not buy. You also can see if things have changed a lot to see
if someone else had been on your account. You also can have different and random
passcodes that you will remember and the hackers will not.
There is No Flaw in the Code
No one can crack this code. Because of the great advancement of technology
we have today, no one can stop the hackers from hacking because we haven't
found a solution and a way to prevent people from hacking the code. But,
everyday people are making advancements and finding new ways to make codes
better. So, we can only prevent people from accessing information.
When do we Use Cryptography?
We use cryptography when we are trying to keep information safe and secure.
When people are trying to keep information safe, they normally appoint a chief
information security officer or create different firewalls to keep people from
viewing the information. People also use cryptography/encryption when making a
mobile phone call.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is definitely safe to say that modern day hackers are dangerous.
It is impossibly hard to stop hackers, but they are still a threat to businesses and
people today. They can leak personal information, shut down websites,
and create fake IDs using your name. Cryptography and encryption is still
important today because you need to have uncrackable codes to stay safe and
away from hackers who could be a potential threat to you.
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