PREVENTIVE MEASURES - Email Hacking

The basics of email hacking.

All facets of our lives are affected by the capabilities offered by online applications, from high-tech metropolises to remote and ancient cultures. But beyond providing content, information and news, the Internet is highly valued by the forms of communication it allows. Email capabilities have become essential for professional and personal success. They are present in virtually all computers, smartphones, tablets and many other devices.

This all-encompassing presence allows for more fluid and faster communication between the parties. Many email platforms are confined to individual systems, while others use gateways to allow users to send emails over the Internet. This has improved global communications, allowing messages and content to be sent and received, anywhere in the world, even to multiple users at the same time. But, they have also opened the doors to innumerable email attacks and cybercrimes.

You are probably familiar with those calls and messages from friends and family members who have received strange emails with your name in the subject line. They can request emergency funds or confidential information. Or, you may find that your social media accounts were hacked. Our email inboxes are filled regularly with annoying spam, scams and endless marketing. But in reality they can be unwanted emails, scams and phishing. These can even include harmful and destructive programs or files.

This malicious software (malware) can be in the form of viruses, which are programs or codes that can be downloaded directly into your email system, either as messages or attachments. Once opened, these pirated emails can affect any program or document. A viral email hack could also expose you to Internet spyware (or tracking software). This programming helps to collect information about a person or organization without their knowledge, which is then sent to advertisers or other third parties.

E-mail hacking viruses can allow third parties to gain access to your confidential information or cause system-wide failures, including data loss and total reformatting. This can have serious and even deadly ramifications, as seen in the hacked e-mail attack of March 29, 2016 on the large chain of hospitals, MedStar Health Inc. Although patient care was not affected, the violation completely closed MedStar computers in many of Washington. DC and Maryland facilities. The FBI believes that hacking e-mail can involve ransomware, malware spread through e-mail attachments and infected programs and websites. It contains data, and even complete computer systems, as hostages, until the victim makes some type of payment, usually bitcoins. , digital currency negotiated for goods or services.

Although they meet a vital need, the safety of hospitals is generally considered deficient. MedStar's e-mail hacking actually comes hand in hand with a February 2016 ransomware campaign aimed at the Presbyterian Medical Center of Hollywood (HPMC) in Los Angeles. That attack, delivered in an infected and pirated email attachment, resulted in HPMC paying the hackers $ 17,000 in bitcoins to restore control of their computer system; The hospital took 10 days to recover completely.

Attempts to hack emails can also be initiated by foreign governments, giving them access to confidential and confidential information, especially that of high-level people. E-mail attacks can use the same software vulnerabilities as other forms of malware, such as attachments, websites or infected documents. Worse still, these hacked emails may not be easily detected. Although rare, pirated email methods can vary widely in terms of time, talent and money involved. Experts believe that if they are successful, a foreign cyber attack can provide a large amount of information.