Brute force used to be easier, and there were many more backdoors. However, while the hacking game has become more difficult for hackers, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still evolving and finding new ingenious ways to gain access. Whether it’s malicious hacking or just hacking to gain control of your property, the world of cybersecurity is a multi-headed hydra that grows two heads for every one that’s cut off.
10. Phone phreaking is over, but there are still a number of tricks
In the days of pay phones and analog landlines, people could do a lot of crazy tricks using the phone system. These were mostly real hackers, often called phone phreaks. Among their many tricks, they could use certain frequencies to get free long-distance calls from any pay phone, and they could hack into elevator phones to troll people in real time. Although these kinds of tricks have slowly died out, there are still some useful little tricks you can use with area codes.
There are quite a few useful star codes, although many of them no longer require the star depending on which mobile phone app you are using. If you use the 67 code, you can hide your identity, and with the 69 code, you can call back any number that just called you, although this does not always work if their number is hidden. However, one of the most useful tricks that many people do not know is that you can often bypass the phone's translation system and dial the extension directly. On Android, you need to select the three dots when dialing the number, then add a 2-second pause before the extension. On iOS, you will be able to create this pause by holding down the star key.
9. Hackers are looking for unsecured Wi-Fi baby monitors for fun
Today, baby monitors often connect to Wi-Fi, and some even have cameras. They also often boast smartphone apps and other remote ways to monitor your baby from literally anywhere. This is convenient, but it does come with some risks. Unfortunately, there are those who don’t even consider babies sacred from malicious trolling. These trolls hack baby monitors and use voice-changing devices to bully babies they find vulnerable. Some may assume that this is because people don’t change their passwords, but that’s not always the case.
According to Chuck Beardsley of cybersecurity firm Rapid7, who conducted a 2015 study of baby monitors, they are woefully unprotected. Perhaps because manufacturers simply didn’t imagine humans being that evil, they lack many of the common security features you see in modern computers. That means even firmware updates and password changes may not always be enough. His recommendation is to go old school and buy a baby monitor that isn’t connected to the internet.
8. Many farmers become hobbyist hackers to repair their own equipment.
When you think of hackers, you probably think of young men dressed in crazy outfits hiding in a dark room somewhere, tapping away at a keyboard, muttering about how they just “broke in.” What you don’t usually think of is the average American farmer living miles away from any city. Unfortunately, due to a trend in the tech and auto industries, farmers are now turning to hacking to repair and maintain their own equipment that they bought with their own money.
Companies like John Deer are particularly notorious for locking down their firmware and having contracts that only allow repairs and service at certain dealerships. Farmers find this unacceptable because many dealerships are a significant distance from their farm, and the mechanics needed sometimes have a long drive to get to the dealership. This can lead to serious crop losses that John Deere will not compensate farmers for, and under the contracts they have, they also cannot sue. John Deere argues that these rules are necessary to ensure the safety and proper maintenance of John Deere products. However, the problem with this argument is that they designed them that way, so it may not be their best line of defense.
7. A computer with a supposedly unhackable prototype chip is holding up well in tests so far
Many of us have been told that there is no such thing as an unhackable computer system. Common sense dictates that given enough time, especially without constant counter-defenses, anything can be hacked. That has long been true, but researchers at the University of Michigan have been working to put an end to that by creating what they hope is a truly unhackable computer chip.
The chip, dubbed “Morpheus” by its creators, was attacked last year over a three-month period by a team of 500 white hat hackers. No one was able to break through, and to this day, the chip remains unhackable. That’s not to say it’s unhackable forever, as its creators have certainly thrown down the gauntlet to every hacker in the world looking to make a name for themselves, but so far it’s held up surprisingly well. Lead researcher Todd Austin explains that, in less complicated terms, the reason it’s so hard to hack is that it’s constantly changing. The metaphor he uses is that trying to hack Morpheus is like trying to solve a Rubix cube that completely rearranges itself every time you blink.
6. Tesla owners also resort to hacking to avoid paying service fees
Tesla has become a very popular company lately because their electric cars are very high quality and they have built a very effective campaign over the years, led by their charismatic founder. The problem is that as cars become more and more computerized, especially the advanced electric cars, they become harder to fix and easier for companies to lock. Tesla is very strict about locking their systems to make it difficult for amateurs or third-party mechanics to fix them, but because some repairs are incredibly expensive on official websites, many people still hack the system and fix their Tesla, or take it to shops that will.
One man's battery was destroyed by road debris, and Tesla billed him $16,000. A mechanic named Richard Benoit, who fixes Teslas off-system, did it for $700. In another case, the same mechanic fixed a Tesla for $5,000 when Tesla quoted the customer more than $20,000 for the repair. When Tesla fans and other groups asked Tesla to confirm these repair prices, they refused to confirm or deny.
5. Some scammers now call you first and ask you to let them in
As computer security becomes increasingly difficult to crack, many hackers are now looking for other ways to get in. Many hackers have decided that the easiest way to get into your computer is to simply ask you outright to let them in, and then do whatever they want once they're inside. Imagine a burglar who decides that instead of breaking into your house in the dead of night, he's going to convince you that he's the guy who's come to check on your water system, and then steal the electronics in your living room while you go get him a glass of water from the kitchen.
This is essentially the thinking behind one of the most popular new scams among hackers and thieves looking to get their hands on your information. They will call you and claim that you have a virus, or some special offer, or that they owe you money. To get rid of the virus or get the special offer, you need to connect to them using a program called teamViewer, which is sometimes used to remotely connect and fix computer problems. The scam has become so widespread that TeamViewer has official warnings about it on their website, and official police have sent out warnings to their citizens.
4. Password reuse is a serious security vulnerability that many people don’t know about.
Between streaming services, social media accounts, email, food apps, and every other service we encounter online that wants us to sign in to, it has become tedious to constantly create passwords for all of them. Many people these days make complex passwords, but the problem is that many people, due to memory fatigue, often reuse their passwords for multiple accounts.
This is understandably tempting, but it can leave you vulnerable to attack. Recently, cybersecurity company TrustWatt discovered a cache in the Netherlands containing over two million usernames and passwords from various sites, as well as all sorts of other data that they shouldn’t have in these people’s accounts. Unfortunately, 30% of these people were reusing passwords, which can leave them very vulnerable to hackers who will simply try entering your password and email on several sites you might use and see what happens. It may seem like an almost insurmountable problem to maintain different and complex passwords for each site, but there is a way. There are now several companies that make password managers that only require you to keep track of one master password, and they will take care of the rest.
3. Ransomware has become a serious threat, and cryptocurrency helps them hide
Ransomware is a term used to describe a situation where hackers lock out your own system, usually when your system is extremely critical. They will then demand a huge ransom to regain control. While such attacks have always existed, they used to be more aimed at the small fish. However, in recent years, it seems that large hacker groups have decided that with largely untraceable currencies like Bitcoin, they might have a chance of catching the really big fish.
In particular, 2021 has been a banner year for ransomware attacks on infrastructure, and experts are hoping that companies will significantly improve their security because of the threat. In 2021, the Colonial oil pipeline that supplies half of the gas to the East Coast was disrupted by a ransomware attack. A little further afield in Brazil, a ransomware attack disrupted two of the country’s largest power plants that same year. And in Norway, an attack on water infrastructure caused a temporary outage affecting 85% of the country’s water supply. Unfortunately, these were just the highlights of a very bad year for ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure.
2. Social engineering has become huge, so it is important to keep your social media private
Major social media sites, government websites, banks, and other attractive targets are becoming increasingly difficult to hack or find a way around. Unfortunately, hackers have ingeniously found one easy way to get around this particular obstacle. With so many systems locked down, locked users still need a way in, and that’s where those secret questions come in—and the hackers along with them.
Security questions give you a way to prove that you are you by answering questions that only you can answer, especially if you’re locked out of your email and can’t remember your password. Hackers, realizing that they can fool just about anything with security questions, have developed cute little Facebook quizzes and Instagram memes to get people to willingly divulge this information. The Better Business Bureau has a warning against answering these quizzes, as people can use the information against you. As for what to do next, if you’re worried about bad actors figuring this out by poring over your old messages, security expert Adam K. Levine suggests lying about your security questions — he just cautions that the lie needs to be consistent, as forgetting your fake security question answer could cause a lot of trouble.
1. The right to repair creates a desire to hack and fix your equipment
Obviously, the biggest evolution of hacking is that hacking these days is increasingly becoming a game of fixing or modifying objects that we legally own. Out of this confusion has emerged the Right to Repair movement: a group of lawyers, enthusiasts, and lobbyists who are trying to give people the right to fix their own things.
Some people are confused by the need because in most cases we actually have the right to repair anywhere, and those void warranty stickers probably won't stand up to any real legal scrutiny. However, having the right to legal repairs doesn't necessarily give you the full right to repair. Many of these companies, like John Deere, have locked down their systems, making it difficult for hobbyists to get in. And it's not just farmers or Tesla owners that are affected - after so many people unlocked their phones, telcos started encrypting the bootloader to make it impossible to install custom ROMs properly.
Right to repair is pretty simple; it’s the idea that companies shouldn’t be legally allowed to make it too difficult for a hobbyist or third-party mechanic with the right tools to repair or modify an item you already own. President Biden recently signed an executive order that says the Federal Trade Commission should work to make it easier for third-party electronics repairs to happen, but that’s just the beginning.
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