29 Jul Your Online Info is Compromised: Now What?

Despite the critical importance of online safety, securing your data is a huge challenge. With every app and website, your digital footprint grows, and online info is compromised through circulating emails and data, creating unseen vulnerabilities. Account syncing’s rapid expansion only magnifies this risk.

Therefore, it’s not uncommon for this information to be exposed. How and when it happens can vary. A common occurrence, for example, is data leaks. If you have personal information on a website, and that domain is compromised due to a malicious attack (or similar), your records are then exposed online. Or, phishing campaigns have stolen your info via fraudulent message. In other cases, hackers and malicious actors can stitch together a personal profile based on the information you post online.

Primarily, the most common ways your info is stolen are by data breaches, lost hardware, malware, phishing scams, and accessing unsafe websites.

In all cases, it’s a stressful, scary experience. However, compromised information doesn’t mean you cannot recover or protect your identity.

First Steps

Primarily, you need to know what information was compromised. Typically, passwords and logins are the likeliest target, since they give hackers access to high-value accounts or credentials.

In most cases, associated accounts that have suffered a breach will attempt to alert the user to said breach event. Another way to check if your information is potentially compromised is via credit check reports, accessing typical accounts, and/or email.

Credit reports can reveal unusual behavior, or even indicate if your information (like social security numbers) has been exposed. Even after a breach or hacked website/account, not all information is stolen, but it’s important to identify what was specifically compromised to better “contain” the leak of data.

What can hackers do with stolen information?

Malicious actors in possession of compromised data can wreak havoc on a person or business. It depends on how they use the information, who they target, and with what tools.

For example, stolen credentials are commonly used for phishing campaigns. Malicious actors impersonate trusted users, like coworkers, administrators, friends, and even family members. Impersonation can lead to further loss of credentials, stolen information, or even ransomware attacks. Another example is account theft, where a malicious actor utilizes stolen data to compromise an account, such as email.

For businesses, compromised accounts, emails, and even profiles can be leveraged to penetrate network defenses to deliver malware payloads and/or steal company information. Hackers typically do this to create ransomware attacks (or similar).

Responding to compromised information

In the unfortunate event your info is compromised, it’s important to take proactive steps to protect your data. One of the immediate things you can do is change your password. It’s recommended to have a dynamic password for each website you use. If not already, it’s also important to have your anti-malware updated (or installed). Another critical piece of personal security is enabling MFA (multifactor authentication) on all relevant devices.

In some instances, you may receive a message or email alerting you to an unidentified password change. Typically, that signals a hacker has compromised your email or another account.

Regardless of how or when your information was taken, taking the right steps can be a lengthy process, depending on how many accounts are affected. The important thing is to remain diligent and review your current security, back up data, and protect your apps, information, and contacts from further breaches. Pay close attention to unusual activity on any of your active accounts, logins, emails, and/or websites. If necessary, let your contacts know your information has been compromised and can be used to impersonate you.

Even with the best intentions, protecting compromised information has challenges. If you still need help, consider reaching out for assistance.

For more information, you can contact Bytagig today.