“Mothers or Hackers? Unmasking the Unexpected Heroes of Cybersecurity!”

This Mother’s Day (2024), I decided to write about this overwhelming feeling when I interact with my ‘Mothership’ (or ‘Amma’ as I fondly call her, amongst the other names depending on occasion), that she could be very susceptible to being hacked any time now.

Table of Contents:

1. Understanding Hacking: Simplified version
2. The Threat landscape
3. Is my mom a hacker??
4. Stories of Attacks (includes an AI-based voice-fake story)
5. How my Mom got Hacked? Alina Simon, NY Times
6. How safe are they? Self-Audit: A quick questionnaire to ask your Moms
7. How evil MOM’s can compromise cyber security? Unbelievable, right?
8. Conclusion: Protecting Ourselves and Loved Ones

Chapter 1: Understanding Hacking

What is Hacking?

In the simplest terms, hacking refers to the practice of exploiting weaknesses in a computer system, network, or application to gain unauthorized access or control. It’s like breaking into a house, but the house is a computer, and the doors and windows are vulnerabilities in the software.

Hacking isn’t always malicious. In fact, ethical hackers, also known as white-hat hackers, use their skills to help organizations strengthen their security systems. They identify potential vulnerabilities and work on fixing them before malicious hackers, or black-hat hackers, can exploit them.

In the Digital Realm:

Ethical Hackers = White-Hat Hackers
Bad Guys = Black-Hat Hackers        

Common Types of Hacking and Their Impacts

There are several types of hacking, each with its own potential impacts on individuals and families. Here are a few common ones:

1. Phishing: This is a method where hackers trick individuals into revealing sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers by pretending to be a trustworthy entity. The impact can be financial loss or identity theft.

2. Password Cracking: Hackers use various tools to guess or crack passwords. If successful, they can gain unauthorized access to personal accounts, leading to privacy invasion and potential misuse of personal information.

3. Malware Attacks: Malware is malicious software that can be installed on a user’s device without their knowledge. It can lead to data loss, slow system performance, and in severe cases, complete system failure.

4. Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks: In this type of attack, hackers overload a network or service with traffic, causing it to become unavailable to users. While this may not directly affect individuals, it can disrupt services they rely on, such as online banking or email.

5. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: Here, hackers intercept and potentially alter communication between two parties without their knowledge. This can lead to eavesdropping and data theft.

The impacts of these attacks can range from minor inconveniences to significant financial loss and emotional distress. It’s essential for individuals and families to understand these risks and take appropriate measures to protect themselves, such as using strong, unique passwords, keeping software up-to-date, and being cautious of unexpected emails or messages requesting personal information.

Chapter 2: The Threat Landscape

A Mother’s Nightmare: The Emotional Impact of Hacking

Imagine this: A mother, still grieving the loss of her son, suddenly starts receiving messages from his social media account. The messages are strange, out of character, and unsettling. The emotional turmoil she experiences is unimaginable. She feels a mix of hope, confusion, and fear. Could her son still be alive? Is this some cruel joke?

This is not a fictional scenario. It’s a real-life example of the emotional impact of a type of cybercrime known as ‘ghost hacking.’

Ghost Hacking: Exploiting the Dead

Ghost hacking refers to the practice of hacking into the accounts of deceased individuals. Hackers exploit the fact that these accounts are often left unattended and unprotected after the account holder’s death. They gain unauthorized access and use these accounts for various malicious activities, such as sending spam, spreading malware, or even for financial gain.

In our story, the mother was a victim of ghost hacking. The messages she received were not from her son but from a hacker who had gained access to her son’s account. The emotional distress caused by this incident added to her grief, demonstrating the severe emotional impact of such scams.

Ghost hacking is a stark reminder of the evolving (read as 'sometimes evil') threat landscape in the digital world. It highlights the need for everyone, including individuals and families, to be aware of these threats and take necessary precautions. This includes securing our digital assets and considering what happens to our online presence after we pass away.

Remember, in the digital world, threats can come from unexpected places. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and most importantly, stay safe.

Now the questions:

What to do with a deceased loved ones Digital Presence and Assets?

Is there a legal side to this?

Should i include this in my will?

- stay tuned, more on this coming up soon.

Chapter 3: Is my Mom a Hacker???

On this Mother's Day, I was reminded of the uncanny similarities between my Mother and...wait for it...hackers!

Yes, you heard it right.

Here are 5 similarities I could come up with:

1. Infinite Patience: Just like hackers who tirelessly work on cracking codes, our mothers exhibit an extraordinary level of patience. Whether it's dealing with our tantrums or waiting for us to finally clean our rooms, their patience is truly commendable.

2. Master of Multitasking: Hackers juggle multiple tasks, from coding to bypassing firewalls. Similarly, mothers are the ultimate multitaskers. From figuring out alternative options to succeed all the way to taking care of us, all at the same time!

3. Problem Solvers: Hackers are known for their problem-solving skills, finding vulnerabilities and loopholes. Mothers, too, are expert problem solvers. From fixing a broken toy to mending a broken heart, there's nothing a mother can't fix.

4. Stealth Mode: Hackers are experts at working undercover, and so are our mothers! Ever tried to sneak in late at night only to find your mom waiting in the living room? Yeah, they've got stealth mode down to a science.

5. Unconditional Love: Hackers may love their computers, but a mother's love for her children is unparalleled. It's the kind of love that doesn't expect anything in return.

I wanted to write omni-presence, but then don’t want to glorify her hacker skills that much, but she is everywhere…!!!!

So, here's to our mothers, the hackers of our hearts. Happy Mother's Day!

Tell me what are the similarities you find between mothers and hackers??

Chapter 4: Jokes Apart: Here are few Real Stories of Cyber Attacks

Story 1: The Retiree’s Life Savings

A retired couple who lost their life savings to an online scam.

Its easy and comfortable to say "I dont know about this advanced technologies", or "I am not tech savvy like the new generation".

"A sharp knife is less dangerous than a dull one. The probability of getting cut increases with a blunt edge." Chef Daniel Boulud.

My PoV: "Using digital assets requires understanding or a dependable support system in cyber security."        

Janmani and Sadhu Iyer received an email, seemingly from their bank, asking them to update their account details. Unknowingly, they provided their information to hackers who drained their accounts. The financial loss was devastating, but the emotional impact of feeling violated and helpless was even worse.

Story 2: The Teenager’s Identity Theft

Abdeen, a teenager whose social media account was hacked. The hacker impersonated Abdeen, sending inappropriate messages to her friends and posting offensive content. She was humiliated and bullied, leading to severe emotional distress.

Story 3: The Small Business Disaster

A small business owner whose website was taken down by a DDoS attack during the peak holiday season. The business lost significant revenue, and the owner had to lay off employees. The emotional toll of letting go of his employees and the stress of rebuilding his business was enormous.

Story 4: The Stolen Family Photos - Irrevocable Memories

In the heart of Mumbai, there lived a family, the Patels (name changed). The father, Ravi Patel, a software engineer, the mother, Meena, a school teacher, and their first-born child, little Aarav. Aarav was the apple of their eye, his every milestone, every smile, every step was a cherished memory, meticulously documented and stored in their cloud storage.

The Patels were a modern Indian family, tech-savvy and aware of the digital world’s conveniences. They had a tradition of capturing every moment of Aarav’s life, from his first steps to his first day at school. These photos were more than just images; they were fragments of time, pieces of their heart, frozen forever in the digital realm.

One day, Ravi received an anonymous email. The message was chilling - their cloud storage had been hacked, and years’ worth of family photos were stolen. The hacker demanded a hefty ransom in alternate currencies to return the photos. The family felt violated as their precious memories were held hostage. The photos of Aarav’s first birthday, his first Diwali, his first day at school - all were in the hands of an unknown entity.

Ravi, with his background in software engineering, tried to track down the hacker but to no avail. The hacker had covered their tracks well. The family was devastated. Those photos were not just pixels on a screen; they were their memories, their joy, their pride, their love for Aarav.

As they grappled with their loss, the Patels realized the importance of cybersecurity. They understood that in the digital age, where data is as precious as gold, one must be vigilant. They decided to fight back, not just for their stolen memories, but to ensure that no other family would have to go through what they did.

The story of the Patels serves as a stark reminder of the threats lurking in the digital world. It underscores the importance of strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and secure cloud storage. But most importantly, it highlights the irreplaceable value of our memories and the lengths to which we will go to protect them.

Story 5: The Unseen Threat: Artificial Intelligence based Fake Voice

John (name changed), a father was a successful CEO of a multinational corporation in the Far West. His voice was well-known, thanks to the numerous corporate videos, earnings calls, and media appearances he made.

One day, John received a call from his company’s financial controller. “John, did you ask for a large sum to be transferred to an offshore account?” the controller asked, confusion evident in his voice. John was taken aback. He had made no such request.

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room somewhere else in the city, a group of cyber-criminals were celebrating. They had used a new technology called ‘deepfakes’ to mimic John’s voice and trick the financial controller into transferring the money.

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to create convincing fake audio or video footage. In this case, the criminals had trained their Artificial Intelligence (AI) system using a vast amount of audio that John had innocently made available. They had even used background noise to cleverly mask the least convincing syllables and words.

Back at John’s company, the realization dawned that they had fallen victim to a sophisticated cybercrime. The incident served as a wake-up call not just for John and his company, but for families and corporations across the city.

Investigation report excerpt: "He explained that the CEO recognized the subtle 'Specific' accent in his boss’s voice—and moreover that it carried the man’s “melody.”        

These stories highlight the emotional trauma caused by cyber attacks. They underscore the importance of cybersecurity measures to prevent such incidents.

Chapter 5: How My Mom Got Hacked

A Real-Life Hacking Incident

In an article titled “How My Mom Got Hacked” published in The New York Times, journalist Alina Simone shared a chilling account of her mother’s encounter with cybercriminals.

Her mother, Inna Simone, a retired mother and grandmother living outside of Boston, started noticing that her computer was acting strangely. It was slow and unresponsive. A few days later, she discovered that all of her files had been locked. A ransom note popped up on her screen, stating, "Your files are encrypted. To get the key to decrypt files you have to pay 500 USD."

The deadline was just a few days away. All her files were locked — tax returns, financial papers, letters — even the precious photos of her granddaughter. She could not open any of them. Inna Simone had fallen victim to a “ransomware” attack.

The Aftermath and Lessons Learned

Inna was panicking. Computer technicians were no help. She did not want to call the police. Her husband initially advised against paying the ransom, but she wanted those files back. The hackers demanded payment in Bitcoin.

This incident underscores the emotional trauma and helplessness that victims of cyberattacks often experience. It also highlights the importance of cybersecurity measures.

Here are some lessons we can learn from Inna’s experience:

1. Backup Your Data: Regularly backing up your data can help you recover your files without having to pay a ransom in case of a ransomware attack.

2. Update Your Software: Keeping your software up-to-date can protect your computer from known vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.

3. Be Wary of Suspicious Emails: Many ransomware attacks start with a phishing email. Be cautious of unexpected emails or messages requesting personal information.

4. Use Strong, Unique Passwords: This can prevent hackers from easily guessing your passwords and gaining unauthorized access to your accounts.

In the next chapter, we will delve deeper into the preventive measures we can take to protect ourselves from such cyber threats. Stay tuned!

Remember, in the digital world, your security is in your hands. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and most importantly, stay safe.

Chapter 6: Quick Self-Audit with real life questions to ask your Mothers and Families.

In this chapter, we will provide a self-audit survey to help you assess the cybersecurity awareness of your family. Each question is followed by a real-life scenario for better understanding.

1. Do you use strong, unique passwords for all your accounts?

o Example: Asrar uses the same password for his email, social media, and online banking accounts. If a hacker discovers this password, all of John’s accounts are at risk.

2. Do you regularly update your devices and applications?

o Example: Sarah ignores the update notifications on her phone. Unbeknownst to her, she misses out on important security patches, leaving her phone vulnerable to attacks.

3. Do you use two-factor authentication (2FA) for your accounts?

o Example: Mahesh’s email account password was guessed by a hacker. Luckily, Mahesh had 2FA enabled, so the hacker couldn’t access his account without the second verification step.

4. Do you regularly back up your data?

o Example: Fei’s computer was infected with ransomware, and all her files were encrypted. Because she regularly backed up her data, she was able to recover her files without paying the ransom.

5. Do you avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown sources?

o Example: Tallulah received an email from an unknown sender with a link. Curious, he clicked on it, unknowingly downloading malware onto his computer.

6. Do you check the URL before entering sensitive information to ensure the website is secure (https)?

o Example: Jessy was about to enter her credit card information on a shopping site. She noticed the website’s URL started with “http” instead of “https”, indicating it wasn’t secure. She decided not to proceed with the purchase.

7. Do you refrain from sharing personal information online unless necessary?

o Example: On a social media platform, Lisa was asked to share her birthdate for a fun game. Understanding the risks, she decided not to share this personal information.

8. Do you use a secure network for online transactions?

o Example: While at a coffee shop, Arjun needed to transfer money online. He decided to use his mobile data instead of the public Wi-Fi to ensure a secure transaction.

9. Do you educate your family members about online safety?

o Example: After learning about phishing, Benji explained to his elderly parents how to identify and avoid phishing emails.

10. Do you know what to do if you become a victim of a cyber attack?

o Example: When Sadia noticed suspicious activity in her online banking account, she immediately contacted her bank and reported the incident.

Remember, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. By increasing our awareness and taking proactive steps, we can significantly reduce our risk and ensure a safer digital environment for ourselves and our loved ones.

Chapter 7: How Evil MOM’s can compromise Cyber Security:

Cannot do away with decades of consulting experience, so here is a Framework....!!!

Sorry about the click bait title: MOM here does not mean Mothers (as in female parent) but an acronym MOM (Motivation, Opportunity, Method)

Did you know that hackers often target unsuspecting individuals, including mothers?

Motivation: Hackers are motivated by various factors such as financial gain, personal information, or simply causing disruption. They prey on our trust and exploit our lack of knowledge about digital safety.

Ex: A hacker might be motivated by financial gain and could target an online shopping account. They could use this to make unauthorized purchases using your stored credit card information. They could also be after personal information, such as your date of birth or address, which could be used for identity theft.

Opportunity: Hackers look for opportunities in our digital behavior. This could be a weak password, an unsecured Wi-Fi network, or a click on a suspicious link. Remember, every action in the digital world can open a door for these cybercriminals.

Ex: A hacker might take advantage of a weak password. For example, if you use something common like “123456” or “password”, a hacker could easily guess this and gain access to your accounts. Similarly, clicking on a suspicious link in an email could give a hacker the opportunity to install malware on your device.

Method: Hackers use various methods to breach our security. This includes phishing (fake emails or messages), malware (harmful software), and social engineering (manipulating people into giving away confidential information).

Ex: A common method used by hackers is phishing. For instance, you might receive an email that looks like it’s from your bank, asking you to log in to your account. The email might look legitimate, but the link actually leads to a fake website designed to capture your login details. Another method is through malware, where a hacker might trick you into downloading a seemingly harmless app or file, which actually contains harmful software designed to steal your information or damage your device.

Remember, the best defense against these tactics is awareness and vigilance. Always double-check the caller and the sender of emails and messages, use strong and unique passwords, and be cautious about what you download and where you click.

Chapter 8: Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones

In the digital age, protecting yourself and your loved ones from cyber threats is crucial. Here are some practical tips and advice:

Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are your first line of defense against hackers. A strong password should be unique, long (at least 12 characters), and a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid using personal information like birthdays or names that can be easily guessed. Consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords.

Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your online accounts. Even if a hacker manages to guess your password, they would still need a second factor—usually a code sent to your phone or email—to access your account. Enable 2FA on all your accounts where it’s available.

Be Wary of Suspicious Messages or Requests

Phishing attacks often start with a suspicious email or message. Be wary of any unexpected messages or requests, especially those asking for personal information. Always verify the source before clicking on any links or downloading attachments.

Regular Updates

Keep your devices, apps, and software up-to-date. Updates often include patches for security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.

Secure Wi-Fi Networks

Use secure and trusted Wi-Fi networks, especially when conducting sensitive transactions like online banking. Public Wi-Fi networks are often unsecured and can be a hotbed for hacker activity.

Backup Your Data

Regularly backup your data to an external hard drive or a cloud service. In case of a ransomware attack, you can restore your files without having to pay the ransom.

Educate Your Loved Ones

Educate your family members, especially children and older adults, about the basics of online safety. Teach them about the importance of not sharing personal information online and how to spot suspicious emails or messages.

Remember, cybersecurity is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Stay informed about the latest threats and how to protect against them. In the digital world, your security is in your hands. Stay safe online!

Happy to take in questions.

All names changed.

All views are personal.

AI has been used to complete the article.

Some of the stories have been adapted, but basically I have my mother in mind as I post this, therefore, taking a deep dive into the world of cybersecurity.