Open Source Intelligence 101

As the festive season comes into full swing, shoppers will spend millions buying gifts online using their smartphone, computer, tablet, etc. Unfortunately, cyber scams are everywhere and they are especially common during Christmas time, so while you’re busy online, whether you’re using public Wi-Fi or your own, you could be at risk of cyber scams! Don’t become the next victim; keep an eye out for these 11 common Christmas cyber scams: 1. Email banking scams 2. Phishing scams 3. Public Wi-Fi scams 4. Fake free Wi-Fi 5. Fake updates 6. Ransomware and viruses 7.Unsecure websites 8. Online news scams 9. Fake virus checks 10. Phone scams 11. Cracked downloads Cybercriminals know that Christmas time is the busiest time of the year which means users will be online throughout the day using their devices to make purchases online. It is critical that you keep an eye out for scams and stay safe. And if it looks too good to be true, it probably i...

Ethical hacking, sometimes known as white hat hacking is when a digital forensics expert or OSINT investigator attempts to penetrate a computer system, network or app on behalf of the owners – with their permission. Ethical hacking is usually done to find if there is any security vulnerabilities that a hacker or cybercriminal could use to exploit someone. The purpose of ethical hacking is to test the security of the systems involved and identify if there are any vulnerabilities in the system as well as the network or infrastructure. Investigators involved will often attempt to exploit the vulnerabilities themselves to see whether malicious activities are possible. Black hat hackers are the unethical counterpart of ethical hackers. Rather than take advantage, ethical hackers will use their skills to document if there are any weaknesses in the systems and give advice on how to fix them and then strengthen their overall security systems. Here are some ways ethical hackin...

Guess what, dating bots are a real thing and falling for one is easier than you think. Online dating is supposed to be fun and convenient, you get to chat with new, fascinating people that could potentially turn into love interests plus it takes away that first-date awkwardness. But it’s never that simple. Dating online has many pitfalls including dating bots that clog almost all the online dating sites you use. Did you know that almost 60% of traffic online is generated by bots? This includes dating websites and social media sites. Online dating bots are specifically designed to chat with you and trick you into paying membership fees on dating websites; they can even trick you into giving out your private information such as your banking details. Here’s how to recognize a dating bot: Their profile picture is a professional glamour shot. They profess their undying love for you a day or two after chatting. They make promises to meet you in person, but somet...

You may not be someone who takes risks. You may be someone who follows all the rules, you pay your bills on time, you always wear your seatbelt and you even put on sunblock when it’s a cloudy day. But do you follow all the rules when you’re online? Are you exposing yourself and your money to the dangers that lurk on the internet? Here are 10 silly things that you might be doing that put you at risk! 1. You just assume that online banking websites are safe. Cybercriminals will go where your money goes, so going to a fake banking site and not noticing before you put in your private login details and password can easily lead to cyber theft. 2. You’re doing your online shopping in shady places. You see a great deal online, but you need to be cautious before you visit just any online shop and click “Add to Cart.” Always enter the URL directly and make sure the site is reliable and well-known. 3. You use the same password for everything. If you’re not taking the time...

Billions of messages are sent out every day by spammers, most of it is annoying advertising and harmless in general, but every now and again there is a dangerous file attachment in one of the messages! To trick you into opening the attachment, most spammers will pretend it is something useful or important such as a Word document, gift card, a PDF, etc. Here are the top 4 dangerous file attachments to look out for… ZIP and RAR archives – Cybercriminals like to use archives to hide the malware they are trying to send you! On Valentine’s Day this year attackers were sending out files named Love_You_0899 to people into clicking them and installing ransomware. Microsoft Office documents – Word documents as well as Excel spreadsheets are some of the most popular Microsoft Office files cybercriminals love to use. Most of the time, they will target office workers and disguise the malware files as urgent messages, contracts or bills. PDF files – A lot of people kno...

Cyber criminals are everywhere, they’re even terrorizing your social media news feed! In this day and age your personal information such as where you go, what you do, who you chat to and what you like can be used as valuable data by cyber criminals. These cyber criminals will sell your private data to people who will use it to target ads, launch campaigns and other malicious operations. You may be thinking to yourself, I’m only one person; no one is going to target me. Well, you’re very wrong! Should you fall victim to a social media scam it not only affects you, it affects your entire network of friends and contacts. Make sure you know these common social media scams and avoid them as best you can… 1. Quizzes, Surveys & Contests. These scams are cute enough to make you think they’re completely innocent. And while you might think it’s all fun and games when they ask you your mothers date of birth or maiden name so you can see what Game of Thrones character yo...

Dating scams cost unsuspecting people money as well as heartache each and every year, but still people continue to fall for the tricks and so online dating scams continue to rise. These cybercriminals will play a long game to cheat you out of your money, rather than using a simple phishing email or scam. If you are using an online dating app or chatting on social media, please be aware that these cybercriminals do exist and you could even dating one! Be sure to look out for these signs to tell if the person you’re dating online is actually a scammer! 1. Suspicious Profile A typical scammers dating profile will have only a few images that have been posted recently. Most often these images are model or glamour stock photos. They’re looking for singles in your area, but they work or live in another country. Be wary if the profile has limited information and only one or two photos. 2. Moving the Conversation Online dating scammers will try their best to move t...