PureVPN actively supports National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024, observed every October, to educate people about our online threats and how to protect ourselves.
This year, NCSAM emphasizes the message ‘Secure Our World.’ The message this year revolves around safe access and defense.
“Secure Our World ” reminds us that there are simple ways to protect yourself, your family, and your business from online threats.”
PureVPN and Secure Our World 2024 will focus on four key behaviors:
To contribute to this cause, PureVPN always aligns the informational blogs and reading material for the people to understand cyber security to the base level.
Let’s join hands with us in learning the basics of being Cyber Secure.
The first and foremost thing to remember is the control over your access. It’s crucial to adopt a proactive approach. Before installing any app, it’s essential to review its privacy policy and the permissions it requests carefully.
When sharing content on social media, it’s essential to think twice because once something is online, it’s challenging to remove. When dealing with financial information, ensure you are connected to a secure network.
This month’s objective is to foster a sense of responsibility for being cautious and, more importantly, securing our personal and confidential data.
Internet Privacy is slipping away! To make matters worse, many apps used on smartphones and tablets tend to share data without our knowledge.
This leaked data can reveal extensive details about us, including our personality, characteristics, and online habits.
Fortunately, there are hidden privacy settings in apps that we can access and configure to protect our private information.
Online privacy is the most critical aspect of digital access today.
Your virtual life needs protection just like your physical. This is because your identity, location, and interests can easily be exposed, inviting identity theft, fraud, and scams.
Your files, messages, and photos stored are only for you. Without proper protection, these assets could fall into the wrong hands.
Your financial safety is also at stake as online banking and shopping become convenient targets for cybercriminals.
❗ Believe it or not: The overall data breach costs reached $4.45 million in 2024.
Strong online privacy measures guard against hacking, keeping your accounts and information safe.
Additionally, online privacy preserves your freedom by shielding you from unwanted surveillance, ensuring that your personal space, thoughts, and opinions remain yours.
Hidden app settings that leak your data are a serious security concern.
These settings are often not visible to you in the app’s interface and may expose sensitive information if misconfigured or exploited.
Here are some examples of hidden settings that could pose a data leakage risk:
Backdoor Access: Some apps may have hidden access for debugging or troubleshooting. If these access points are not correctly secured or are accidentally left open, they could be exploited by malicious actors to access your data.
https://x.com/ShaneTews/status/1709963596112015650?s=20
Excessive Permissions: Apps with hidden settings granting excessive permissions beyond what is necessary for their functionality can be a data privacy risk.
For instance, an app with access to the device’s camera or microphone without clear user consent could be exploited to capture sensitive information.
https://x.com/telegram/status/1245192960204886018?s=20
Data Logging: Hidden settings enabling extensive data logging or debugging logs may store sensitive data.
If these logs are not adequately protected or regularly purged, they can be accessed by unauthorized individuals.
https://x.com/JAMES00117053/status/1631353493096103944?s=20
Hidden API Endpoints: Some apps have hidden API endpoints not meant for public access.
If these endpoints are discovered and exploited, they can potentially leak your data, especially if proper authentication and authorization mechanisms are not in place.
https://x.com/MatteoRigoni/status/1530872666114117638?s=20
Unencrypted Storage: Hidden settings that disable encryption for data storage can put your data at risk. If sensitive information is stored in an unencrypted format, it becomes more vulnerable to data breaches.
Unsecured Debugging Interfaces: Apps often have hidden debugging interfaces that developers can access during development.
If these interfaces are not correctly secured and accidentally left active in production versions, attackers can exploit them to gain unauthorized access.
Insecure Defaults: Hidden settings with insecure default configurations can expose your data.
If an app’s default settings allow for data sharing or open network ports without your knowledge, it can lead to data leakage.
Undocumented APIs: Apps may utilize undocumented APIs or features not part of the official documentation.
These APIs may not be properly secured or maintained and could lead to data exposure if exploited.
Hidden Data Transfer: Some apps may have hidden settings allowing data transfer to third-party servers or services without your consent. This can result in unauthorized data sharing or leakage.
https://x.com/samudecay/status/1708124911535788238?s=20
Remote Control Settings: Apps with hidden settings that enable remote control or access to your devices can be exploited to extract data or manipulate the device without your knowledge or consent.
To maintain control over the apps on your Android device, it’s crucial to review their permissions periodically.
When you initially launch an app after installing it, it requests access to various parts of your device, such as the camera, microphone, or personal data like contacts and messages.
It’s wise to ensure that apps only have access to what’s necessary.
To do this,
Here, you’ll find a list of permissions like location and contacts. Check each option and verify that the “allowed” apps align with their intended purposes; for instance, ride-sharing apps like Uber should have location access, while basic tools like a calculator shouldn’t.
An Android advertising ID is essentially a series of numbers linked to your mobile device.
This identifier is visible to app developers and their advertising associates as you navigate through apps, and it assists them in monitoring your activities across different apps to deliver targeted advertisements.
On Android 12 or newer devices, a feature allows you to transform your advertising ID into a sequence of zeros, enhancing your privacy.
To do this:
From there, you can choose “Delete advertising ID.”
Most modern Android smartphones already have encryption enabled, which provides a layer of security by safeguarding your personal data from easy access unless someone successfully unlocks your device.
However, this encryption feature may not be turned on by default if you’re using an older Android phone or tablet.
Here’s how to verify:
If your device is already encrypted, you’ll find the status as “Encrypted” under the “Encrypt phone” option, and no further action is needed.
However, if you don’t see this status, tap “Encrypt phone” to initiate the encryption process. Be prepared for it to take some time, possibly over an hour, as it’s a comprehensive security measure.
There are ways to enhance Chrome’s safety.
These steps will help you use Chrome with greater security.
To enhance your iPhone’s security settings and prevent privacy leakage through apps, consider the following steps:
The Executive Director of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity said: “In an ever growing connected world, protecting shared data is essential if we want to generate trust in digital services.”
“We therefore need to rely on the technologies at hand to address the emerging risks and thus find the solutions to best protect the rights and freedoms of individuals across the EU.”
Keeping your privacy in your control is your right. Learn to be safe online. Being vigilant while giving access to apps will always help prevent misusing your data.
In 2024, strive to be secure with PureVPN as your security partner.