How is my secret data stolen?

There are many ways for the information-thieves and hackers to get their hands on your confidential data. Their motive is to sell or use your information in order to make money. A few years ago, information theft required exceptional programming skills, but this is no longer the case. Today almost anyone can become an information-thief simply by downloading free monitoring software. Below follows 5 examples of how your secret data can be stolen, the methods range from very sophisticated to simple brute force.

1. Bribe

Bribe a person at the IT-department to get access-codes or make them steal files and cope drives from selected individuals. It is not uncommon with flexible moral connected to financial reward..

2. Steal

Traditional break-in and simply steal the computers and servers

3. Monitor Wi-Fi traffic

The thief downloads monitoring software for free, finds unprotected wireless networks, residential or commercial. The monitoring software is set-up to automatically record all emails, instant messages and internet-pages that pass through the connection. Google “Wi-Fi monitoring software” to see some available solutions.

4. Monitor land traffic

Internet is built on many connected servers. Control over a server means Full access to everything that flows through the server. It is impossible to know Who has control over the servers that Your emails travel through. The big servers are likely to be monitored by internet service providers (ISP) following legislation to store traffic and by states tracing illegal activities to name two parties. Individuals working for an ISP or a state may pass/sell the information to interested parties.

5. Hack

Bypass/hack security systems and access an organizations documents, systems and email. This approach is often done by the use of malicious code such as Trojans distributed through Viruses.

Conclusions

You must assume that your computer will be lost, stolen or broken into And that your email and internet communication is being monitored and stored. The only protection left for above scenarios is encryption.

- Encrypt All sensitive data on your computer, do not save it unencrypted at other servers.

- Encrypt All sensitive emails.

- Encrypt All sensitive Instant Messages.

Flexcrypt does all this and more.