Those of us who’ve been around the digital block for a while like to think we’re not as prone to becoming cyberattack victims as others. Indeed, you might be able to recognize a phishing email or a Facebook scam from a mile away, but that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily aware of more hidden or sophisticated dangers.
In this article, we examine four online risks that even experienced users often overlook. Some happen due to a false sense of security. Others happen sneakily and outside of your control. None are obvious at first glance, but could spell digital disaster sooner or later unless you become aware of them.
Key Takeaways
- Implicit network trust is risky. Just because the coffee shop Wi-Fi was fine yesterday doesn’t mean it’s safe today.
- Good cybersecurity habits don’t cut it. Attackers don’t necessarily have to bypass passwords or MFA to take over active accounts.
- Old permissions are trouble waiting to happen. Persisting access is an ongoing risk you’ll likely forget about.
- Data leaks don’t need your input. Careful user habits don’t prevent apps or breaches from exposing your info.
The Illusion of Trusted Networks
Ordinary users rarely think about the risks when connecting to networks like public Wi-Fi. Ironically, you might be aware but dismiss the threat since you’ve used the Wi-Fi in airports or your favorite café hundreds of times and never had anything happen.
That kind of complacency makes people use effective security measures, like using different types of VPNs selectively. You might activate it only when connecting through a new, untrusted network, but familiarity doesn’t guarantee safety.
It doesn’t take a lot of skill to set up a fake hotspot if that café becomes more popular. Similarly, attackers may start stealing people’s credentials through fake captive portals or log into their accounts via session hijacking.
Silent Account Takeovers
The threat landscape is changing, and even experienced users might not be caught up. MFA and strong passwords remain important, but hackers don’t necessarily have to bypass them. They can exploit apps and services you implicitly trust instead.
Session hijacking is an attack that does damage without setting off alarm bells. Someone can use a Wi-Fi connection or exploit weaknesses in the website’s code to copy the session data that identifies you as a user and access the account without having to log in to it.
From there, it’s easy to quietly change your username and password, disable MFA, and access personal info tied to the account. None of these actions triggers any alerts since the site believes you’re using it as intended.
Exposure Accumulated Over Time
Tech-savvy people tend to widely explore and make use of the digital means at their disposal. They may treat each individual website signup or app install with due diligence, but inevitably forget that these can turn into persistent threats if not addressed eventually.
For example, you might have needed a productivity app years ago and gave it access to a folder in your cloud storage. That app might have become defunct in the meantime, but the token that grants access to that folder might still be active for attackers to exploit.
This type of permission creep is hard to address. You could be diligently using strong, unique passwords for everything, but someone might still get access to important files since they can bypass password requirements entirely.
Unseen Data Leak Risks
People who constantly interact with technology are more aware of the potential privacy risks. You won’t see them oversharing on social media or willingly exposing sensitive information. While this does make their digital footprints smaller, data leaks they know nothing about can still happen.
The most egregious leaks happen when companies that handle your data suffer breaches, since you can’t do anything about shoddy security on their end. Then there are the apps and websites you use daily. The former may ask for more permissions than they need. The latter collects usage and preference data that can be used to build an accurate profile of you.
These can snowball from a general loss of privacy through suddenly getting suspiciously convincing phishing messages to outright identity theft. If you’re wondering how to prevent identity theft, specialized services can help by monitoring for red flags. The tricky bit is realizing you likely need that kind of monitoring in the first place. It’s because identity theft usually starts quietly and only becomes obvious once there’s already cleanup to do.
