Beyond popular cybersecurity threats , such as ransomware and large-scale data breaches, there are also lesser-known threats that are still dangerous to your personal data. Here are some of them :
USB Sticks
A small USB stick may not seem like much of a threat, but these portable drives can carry a lot of threats to your device—especially if they're designed specifically for that purpose. You should be wary when plugging a USB into computer if you're not entirely sure where it came from.
Zombie accounts
Nowadays, it is common to have multiple accounts on different sites. It is important to take the time to close these accounts and not just uninstall the associated app from our phones when we no longer need them. This way, if one of them suffers a data breach, for example, our data will not be included in the leaked data. It is also worth regularly checking the third-party apps and services that are connected to the main accounts.
Untrustworthy browser extensions
The right browser extensions can add useful features and functionality to your browser, but these add-ons should be monitored like any other software, as they have the ability to see everything you do online if they want to. Choosing the wrong extension for browser can leak your browsing data, or annoy you with ads or install unwanted software. We recommend that you keep the number of browser extensions you have installed to a minimum and only choose extensions that you know and trust.
Online Quiz
They may seem harmless and fun, but they can also be used to collect your personal data. These quizzes can be used to create more detailed profiles of users and their friends, collecting not only the answers to the quizzes but also other information stored on the connected Facebook. Just think about how often they ask for personal data.
Be cautious of anything that asks for personal information or personal photos from you, or that requires logging into one of your social media accounts.
Uploading photos
There's nothing wrong with posting photos on your favorite networks, but think twice about the information other people can glean from the photos you've made public – especially in the places where you live and work.
While many apps, like Instagram and Facebook, automatically remove location data stored with photos, some, like Google Photos, can keep this data embedded in the file. Information like where you work or where you live can help someone commit identity theft or even break into your home. The less your public photos say about you, the better.
Smart Homes
Our homes are becoming increasingly smart, which gives hackers and malware vendors a new set of devices to target. To avoid this, start by choosing well-known, trusted brands with a strong track record. After that, make sure both your smart home devices and your router are updated with the latest software.
If your smart home devices and accounts require passwords, make sure you choose a complex and difficult password that you don't use anywhere else, and enable two-factor authentication, if available, as an extra layer of protection.
Malicious charging cables
The standard charging cables that come with your gadgets are designed to charge them, but there are also specially designed cables that look a lot like them and can be used for malicious purposes.
These cables look a lot like the genuine products, but they can give hackers remote access to a device once plugged in. All you need to do to stay safe is use the cables that came with your devices or from trusted sources. As with USB sticks, don't assume that just any cable out there is safe.
