The 3 People Most Likely to Hack Your Data & Privacy

We all think we have more privacy than we really do. We take privacy for granted in two ways: either by believing that people are more benevolent than they really are, or by believing that privacy breaches “could never happen to me“.

But these things always blindside you, partly because they come from the places you least expect.

Mikko Hypponen is a well-known security expert who has been giving security-related talks and advice for several years now, and in this relatively short TED Talk, he explores the most common types of online attacks:

• Criminals: These attackers are motivated by money. They’ll break into your bank accounts, steal your identity, and infect you with all kinds of malware. Dangerous, but also predictable.
• Activists: These attackers are motivated by ideas. Think of groups like Anonymous and LulzSec and you’ll get the picture. However, this could also include those who act out of their own interests, like the one who leaked a bunch of celebrity nudes.
• Government: These attackers are the most frightening because there’s little you can do about it. Hypponen suggests that government entities will be the biggest threat to personal privacy over the next 50 years.

So what can we do? At the very least, we have to stay vigilant with our data, making sure to use encryption as much as possible and keep sensitive information off the Internet.

Do you care about privacy and data security? Why or why not? What would you do if we lost all sense of privacy in the coming years? Tell us in the comments!

Image Credit: Matrix Man by ImageFlow via Shutterstock