What To Do If You Think You’ve Been Hacked ?
No matter how vigilant you are in protecting the privacy of your sensitive information, there is always the risk that it will be hacked. Quite frequently, it will be in ways that might take you by surprise.
Your information is accessible via your social media networks, your laptop or desktop computer, and even connected devices such as Google Home, Alexa, and Nest. If it’s connected to the internet in any way, you run the danger of having it hacked.
The positive spin on this cloud is that there are actionable steps you can do to better safeguard yourself.
Change Your Passwords
Because hackers are looking for any point of entry into a bigger network, and because a weak password could be used to obtain access to the network, this is very critical. If you have an account or device that stores sensitive information, you should make sure that the password you use is robust, one of a kind, and difficult to guess.
You won’t get very far by simply adding your birth date to your mother’s maiden name. A reliable password manager will be able to swiftly generate passwords for you that are difficult to decipher.
Secure Your Log In Process
After you have safeguarded your passwords, check to see that your log-ins have the same level of protection. You might be familiar with the concept of two-factor authentication, which is supported by the majority of accounts. This additional security precaution helps to verify that you are the actual person who is linked to the account that you are attempting to access.
The two-factor authentication process works by first requesting the credentials you use to log in. Sending a one-time-use code to your mobile device by email or text message that will expire after a certain amount of time and that you will need to enter to finish the sign-in procedure.
While you’re at it, you should probably prevent unauthorized users from accessing your information on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Follow the instructions provided in the settings section of each website in order to disable these authorizations and ensure that the information you share remains secure.
Contact People Who Can Help
There are critical actions you must take right away if you have any reason to believe that someone has fraudulently accessed your financial information. Among these are making contact with your bank. They will assist with the processing of claims and also keep an eye out for any spending behavior that is out of the ordinary.
Friends and family members you can rely on. Inform them that you have reason to suspect suspicious activity so that they can be on the lookout for phishing messages or other forms of communication that are out of the ordinary. Having to deal with the possibility of being hacked is a serious business.
Make sure you’re aware of your surroundings, trust your gut, and take the necessary precautions to keep yourself safe so you can avoid the worst of the situation.