The most common way email gets hacked are through phishing schemes. The emails may also ask a recipient to download something that looks legitimate but ends up being malicious malware.
The Anthem breach is suspected to have originated through the use of a phishing scheme. A MITM attack is when a hacker secretly relays communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly.
When emails are sent between two parties, unless BOTH parties use encryption the message is open and can be read by anyone who intercepts it. A quick way to know if an email is particularly vulnerable to MITM is if you receive an email from someone and it is in cleartext. Change your security questions. The hacker may have gotten access to your account by guessing the answers to security questions.
Avoid choosing questions with answers that can easily be guessed or found online. Turn on two-step verification. Also known as multifactor authentication, this extra security measure typically requires you to enter your username and password along with a temporary passcode to get into an account. For example, the service provider may send the one-time passcode to your phone each time you try to log in. Without your phone in hand, a hacker will be much less likely to gain entry into an account that has two-step verification turned on.
Warn your contacts. Look for signs of trouble. To prevent this, you should take these steps: Check your settings. Hackers who gain access to an email account may change settings to further compromise your security.
And get tips from your email service provider on any other ways you can make your account more secure. Scan for trouble. Look for signs of a computer virus on your computer, phone or tablet. These signs may include strange pop-up windows, slowness, problems shutting down or restarting, and unfamiliar applications on your device.
Protect yourself for the future. Make sure you are running the latest versions of your apps, browser, operating system, and software. The newest versions often contain patches to fix security flaws hackers can exploit.
Here are just a few ways in which cyber-criminals can exploit your email address. This is where most hackers begin. When they gain entry to your email account, they also gain access to your digital contact list.
If you have ever received a strange email from a friend asking you to click a link or send money, chances is hacking of the account. Once hackers have finished targeting your contacts, they will likely move on to larger email scams. They do this by using your email address to send out massive mailings to lists of unknown recipients. Phishing scams try to get recipients to click a spam link, download a malicious file, or send information or money is commonplace.
Your passwords are weak and easily hacked. Most hackers collect passwords using malware that has been installed on your computer or mobile phone if you have a smartphone.
No matter which operating system you use, be sure your anti-virus and anti-malware programs are up to date. Choose the setting that will automatically update your computer when new security fixes are available. Strong passwords do not have to be hard to remember, they just have to be hard to guess.
Make your password at least 10 characters long, and use capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use information about yourself or someone close to you including your dog or cat! Do not use words that can be found in a dictionary, these are easy for hackers to break, even if you spell them backward.
Text messaging shortcuts can help make strong, memorable password creation easier. For example L8rL8rNot2Day! Studies show that the average email account has password-protected accounts linked to it, so it's no wonder passwords often aren't as secure as they should be. A password manager can help you keep them in order and encrypted.
Send an email to your contacts saying you were hacked.
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