Top 5 Ways Hackers Can Attack You

Today an unmeasurable number of debates rise about the ways we can interact with technology in the years to come, and one of the topics is, precisely, security. 

Many people think that only one person is capable of exploiting the flaws present in various types of systems, but it has been proven that those attackers almost always operate in close knit groups. In this article, we will present you the Top 5 Ways Hackers Can Attack You:

5. Credit Cards

This (relatively) old form of payment has been one of the favorite preys of hackers. In fact, payment devices designed for those cards are very vulnerable, to the point where an attacker can take advantage of several technologies to violate Wi-Fi signals and steal financial information.

There are numerous tools, anything from RFID scanners to Skimmers are used by hackers looking to steal your financial information. Using RFID blocking wallets, and using credit cards with a chip are one of the many ways to protect yourself against such attacks.

4. Smart Cars

This is a trend that is gaining traction and market share. Smart Cars are slowly becoming mainstream, and a good chunk of the existing models (even non-electric cars) are equipped with some form of an operative system. Tesla is the most connected car in the world, but that isn’t a reflection how secure it is. An attacker only needs a short code to localize some smart car’s models and open them. Stealing cars may become a job for computer geeks rather than street criminals.

3. Videogames

Many people don’t know that the seventh generation of gaming consoles (Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) wasn’t the one that allowed online multiplayer gaming. However, there is no way to deny that those systems gave enormous popularity to that function. With that being said, hackers have found a whole new world of possibilities in centralized databases containing the information of millions of players.

Sony, for example, was the victim of a hacking incident that leaked the information of thousands PlayStation Network users. In addition, 40 GB of sensitive company data from Sony was stolen and posted online. These hacks are a no joke by any means as that data contains highly valuable information that hackers use in order to infiltrate other services.

2. Smart Homes

Perhaps one of the scariest targets of a hacking attempt, your connected home may become a target in the near future (maybe even now). Ubiquitous systems have brought unmeasurable benefits to our life, but they haven’t proven to be safe enough for the time being. A hacker that can access your smart home will be able to see, hear and frighten you with a couple of clicks.

1. ATMs

Almost all the money machine dispensers around the world use Windows XP as a platform, one of the most harmed operating systems in history by hackers. In fact, today it doesn’t represent a challenge for any person dedicated to these illegal practices. ATMs are not only the target of pettier (and common) criminals but that of sophisticated criminals with knowledge in computer systems. Reports of ATMs dispensing cash out of their slots have actually occurred in the past, so nothing can really surprise us anymore about these devices.