Beware of Risks from Piecing Together Fragmented Information
In the internet era, personal information exists in fragmented forms across various platforms and services. Many people believe that leaking bits of information is inconsequential. However, the online environment is not absolutely safe, and individuals with malicious intent can collect and integrate these fragmented pieces to create a complete personal profile. Even the simplest search engine can be used for information gathering.
Taking a certain social platform as an example, while users share snippets of their lives, they may inadvertently expose personal information. For instance, some users enjoy publicly discussing the meaning and usage scenarios of passwords, which undoubtedly increases the risk of password cracking.
The principles of social engineering tell us that meaningful strings often appear repeatedly in multiple places. A unique username or an easily remembered password is likely to be reused by users across different platforms, becoming a common pathway for internet information leaks.
Reduce Account Association to Protect Personal Identity
For the average internet user, if there is no need to build a personal brand, it is recommended to use randomly generated usernames and passwords to minimize the association between accounts on different platforms.
It should be noted that using different account passwords alone is not enough to completely eliminate account association. If similar or identical content is posted across different platform accounts, it may still be possible to identify the association.
Common Types of Sensitive Information
Here are some common types of sensitive information that require special attention to protect:
- Passwords
- Usernames
- Profile pictures
- Birthdays
- Addresses
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- QQ numbers
- WeChat IDs
- Personal websites
- Geographic locations
- Photos
Some criminals use “social engineering databases” to integrate personal information leaked from different channels. For example, if information leaked from two different platforms contains the same phone number, it can be highly suspected that these two pieces of information belong to the same person.
Even if usernames and photo styles from different platforms are vastly different, they may still be linked through social engineering databases, ultimately forming a complete personal information file.
This is not an exaggeration but a common application scenario of social engineering databases. The threshold for using social engineering databases for information collection and “doxxing” is not high, and even minors can easily master it.
Enhance Cybersecurity Awareness to Protect Personal Privacy
While the internet brings people closer together, it can also exacerbate the distance between them. Social platforms provide a space for communication but may also make people feel more isolated.
In the online world, we yearn to express ourselves and find resonance, but we also need to remain vigilant and protect our personal privacy.
When interacting with strangers online, there is no need to disclose personal information in detail. Be cautious in speech and action, maintain restraint, enjoy solitude, and improve oneself to navigate the online world with ease.
Recommendations:
- Regularly check and update your passwords to ensure they are strong enough.
- Avoid using the same account passwords across different platforms.
- Be cautious when sharing photos and updates that contain personal information.
- Use tools like AdGuardPrivate to protect your DNS queries and prevent DNS leaks.
- Stay informed about the latest cybersecurity trends and promptly learn about new threats and prevention methods.