In our last article, we discussed different types of hackers and their methods of hacking. Hacking is done by highly skilled and crafted individuals, who use their knowledge to achieve a goal or accomplish a mission, within a computerized system by several means. Wikipedia defined a hacker as someone who can subvert computer security for malicious purposes. Today, we’re going to discuss the history of hacking, and devices most vulnerable to hacking.

The term Hacking was first used in the 1970s but became more popular through the next decade. An article in a 1980 edition of “Psychology Today” had a headline “The Hacker Papers”, to explore the addictive usage of a computer. Two years later, two movies, Tron and Wargames, were released where the lead characters act about hacking into computer systems. These movies introduced the concept of hacking nationwide and this was also a potential national security risk.

As predicted, that same year after the release of the movie, a group of teenagers cracked the computer systems of top organizationslike Los Alamos National Laboratory, Security Pacific Bank, and Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. A Newsweek article illustrating the event became the first to use the word “hacker” in a negative manner which is commonly used today.

This event also led Congress to pass several bills around computer crimes, but that did not stop the number of cybercrimes on corporate and government systems. Of course, the concept of hacking has gotten viral with the release of the public internet, which has led to lots of opportunities and more lucrative rewards for hacking activity. These witnessed techniques evolve and increase in sophistication and led to a wide range of types of hacking and hackers.

DEVICES AT HIGH RISK OF HACKING

Smart Devices: These smart devices, like smartphones, are mostly used by hackers. Devices such as Android, have an inconsistent software development process unlike iOS devices, which puts them at a high risk of corruption and cyber-attacks. However, hackers target smart devices in general and are coming up with newer techniques daily.

Webcams: Webcams are video cameras that streams an image or video in real time through a computer or a network, such as the internet. Webcams that are built into computers are a common hacking target because they are easy to hack. Hackers gain access to them through a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) in rootkit malware, which allows them to not only spy on users, but also read
their messages, see their browsing activity, take screenshots, and lots more.

E-mails: E-mails is frequently targeted by cyber criminals to attack. It is used to spread malware and ransomware and as a means of phishing attacks, which enables attackers to target victims with malicious links.

Routers: Hacking routers gives an attacker access to data sent and received across them and networks linked and accessed on them. Hackers can also hack into a router to carry out more malicious acts like crypto mining, denial-of- service (DDoS), and the likes.

Jailbroken Phones: According to McAfee, to “jailbreak” means to allow the phone’s owner to gain full access to the root of the operating system and access all the features. This gives access to cybercriminals to hack into your phone.

CONCLUSION

End user security is still paramount for every end user. Having this information would enable you to protect your devices against these kinds of attacks.

We are Platview Technologies. We are an innovative and agile cybersecurity company with the goal of safe-guarding businesses with our world-class, industry- leading services and technology solutions. We commit to understanding your business objectives and goals to align a tailored security services and strategy allowing your business to grow without added security risk.