東西 | dongxi

Starting with the Sony Playstation Network, a rash of hack attacks have occurred throughout the web, hitting everything from financial institutions to online services to government offices. Not only have several of these sites been breached, but personal information ranging from email addresses to names to passwords have been posted online. While the chances of being one of those affected are still “relatively” slim, this recent threat should not be taken lightly. (If you’re a Citibank cardholder, you definitely need to check! Over 360,000 credit card holders may have been exposed.) In fact, the recent awareness of these hacks only call to question how long similar incidents may have occurred in the past, only to be swept under the rug.

So what should one do? Here’s a few important ways to protect yourself:

1. Check if your information was hacked. Gizmodo has provided a handy tool to see if your email was among the ones recently released.
2. Change your password. It doesn’t hurt to regularly change your passwords. That goes for banks, Facebook, even email.
3. Choose your password wisely. Several lists have shown that text such as “1234” or “password” are most often used as passwords, making it extremely easy to hack. Try to mix both letters and numbers in your password. Also, avoid using words that can be easily accessed through a search on Google (e.g. mother’s maiden name, hometown, etc.).
4. Use different passwords for each site. Too often people use the same login (email) and password across several sites. It only takes one weak link to expose yourself to the world.
5. Be wary of phishing scams. Several scammers have been preying on people through fake emails and phone calls, pretending to be security experts or affected sites (banks, PayPal, Amazon, etc.) requesting personal information. Contact the site directly (don’t click the links on the email).

While no one knows whether or not this recent spike in hacks will be permanent, it doesn’t hurt to be extra cautious, especially as more personal information is shifted online. A few steps of precaution can help avoid a world of pain.