Every year, huge numbers of violations are recorded, in which companies and government institutions are regularly hacked, with the personal data of those who organized them exposed. Hackers exchange compromised data in order to do illegal things that include impersonation or carrying out fraud. Below is all you need to know about ways to detect if your data has been stolen and sold online, along with the options available to protect yourself.
More records are stored online than ever before, and it is becoming increasingly common for a large personal database to fall into the hands of cybercriminals (hackers). More than 4 billion data has been stolen, of which was accidentally leaked in the past decade, according to the data collected, more than 7,000 separate breaches were recorded at that time, and with massive repeated violations putting tens or hundreds of millions of people at risk. The spread of sensitive data among hackers.
Recently, we saw how a hacker posted the personal data of more than 533 million Facebook users online for free (which sounds suspicious), including names, phone numbers, email addresses, account IDs, and resumes.
Hackers need leaked personal data as a springboard to start countless other scams. Stolen records are regularly traded online by cyber criminals and used for fraud, while hackers can attempt to break into corporate systems to spread or extort ransomware.
Here's how to determine if your data has been compromised and how to protect yourself.
Check if your information has been disclosed with free online tools.
All companies are legally obligated to notify users when their data has been breached, but this data is often revealed through public data that is vague, leaving individual consumers distracted. Fortunately, security researchers keep comprehensive records of past data points that you can use to verify if you've been affected by a breach in the past.
One of these resources is HaveIBeenPwned.com , a database maintained by security analyst Troy Hunt.The site allows anyone to enter their email address and the scanning process includes reviewing it out of the 10 billion accounts hacked during previous violations with the aim of determining whether you have been hacked.
In some cases, passwords are also exposed during data breaches. Hunt also provides a password search facility that lets people know if their password has fallen into the hands of hackers.
If you experience a data leak, take steps to secure your accounts.
If you discover that your personal information has been shared, it is time to protect your identity. Doing this depends on the severity of the stolen data - if your Social Security number or driver's license number has been stolen, you will need to file a report with your government agency.
In most cases, the data breaches involve less sensitive information such as emails and usernames. If your email address is disclosed, you must change the password for this email account and enable the authentication option to secure your email.
Finally, if you discover that your password itself has been exposed, you will not be able to re-authorize it and you must change it immediately on all affected accounts. Also, keep an eye out for any suspicious activity on any of your accounts, while following up on news of violations and following the advice taken.
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