You must have read about former Disney employee Matthew Van Andel, whose world turned upside down when he downloaded an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered photo programme unaware that it was laced with hacking software. Now, you must be wondering how to prevent this from happening to you. The Wall Street Journal lists out a few things you can do to make it harder for the hackers if they do slide into your digital life. Van had many usernames and passwords stored in a password manager. It can improve personal security as it eliminates the need to track passwords for dozens of online accounts. However, the issue was Van did not have two-factor authentication (2FA) – a security system that requires two distinct forms of identification in order to access something – for the password manager itself. Not having 2FA can make your life easier.
However, make sure it’s turned on. It was shocking that after getting grip on Van’s personal computer, the hacker dumped the contents of Van’s password manager online. It made the attack worse as it allowed anyone who could see Van’s logins and passwords to break into various accounts. Many people might not realise that a lot of passwords they use frequently are already available online, stolen in data breaches. Password managers or some operating systems can flag when your passwords are exposed online and help create unique passwords that can then be stored. Think twice when a website offers to ‘remember you’. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), hackers have ramped up the theft of ‘session cookies’. A session cookie gets created whenever users click ‘remember me’ while logging into a website.
Often they are good for a fixed period, like a week or a month. But once a hacker gets on your computer, they can use them to gain access to websites that require 2FA. Users should be very careful about using them on sensitive websites, FBI says. Antivirus software like Microsoft’s free Windows Defender is a superb product.
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However, it cannot protect you from everything. It did not discover that an AI plugin from GitHub that had positive reviews and seemed to work was actually malicious software (Trojan Horse). Van tried out Bitdefender and it found the Trojan Horse immediately. If you’re concerned, downloading some free antivirus software for a quick scan and a second opinion is not a bad idea. And if you are uncertain about the safety of a plug-in or some free software, ask yourself whether it’s worth the risk.
