As digital technology continues to evolve, there is an increase in the use of digital platforms to disseminate information.
Gone are the days where jobs were posted on Companies Notice Boards or published on printed newspapers only.
With the ever increasing use of internet, most organizations and governments agencies now place job advert using several platforms including the internet.
The internet provides an enriching platform amongst all other alternative medium because it reaches more people within a noticeably short time compared to notice board and newspapers.
In this age of technology, with the proliferation of mobile devices, people tend to Google for available jobs on the internet.
Most job offers direct the applicant to an online application form via website.
All websites run on the WorldWideWeb, an interconnected global network of computers.
As the use of internet increases so does the risk that comes with it. The original intention of the creators of internet was to enable platform where data can be exchanged regards of locations of users, but this intent have been compromised by hackers who infiltrate the internet with a deliberate intention to compromise people’s privacy.
Some of these hackers deliberately set up fictitious jobs offers and websites, some clone legitimate job websites and host their malicious website on the worldwide.
Welcome to Universal Resource Allocation (URL) known in a layman’s language as website address.
A website address a string of concatenated letters or numbers used to identify a location or file on the web.
HOW A HACKER LURED INTERNET USERS (JOB SEEKERS) TO A WRONG WEB ADDRESS:
Let say, News Correspondent wants to advertise to recruit news reporter for its online News platform, www.newscorrespondent.ng
News Correspondent decides to put up an online recruitment portal at www.newscorrespondent.ng/jobs
Application is then invited from the public, directing them to fill the application form online at www.newscorrespondent.ng/jobs
A malicious hacker can clone the News Correspondent URL for Job and host it on the web, but insert a slight change in original URL by asking people to visit:
http://www.n[e]wscorrespondent.ng/jobs
Please watch carefully and sign the slight change in the original URL. [the replacement of e with é]
If you are not a curious and smart person to have carefully inspected the URL, you will be misdirected to a clone online form that will capture your personal details and send to the hacker.
In some case, the hacker can embed a malicious payload on the site, once you visit, the payload runs a script on your browser and extract stored passwords, likely your Facebook or any social media login credentials.
HOW CAN YOU CIRCUMVENT THIS TYPE OF ATTACK:
1. Always carefully inspect the URL of any site you intend to visit. If is a well-known brand, you should have known their URL which may have published on their brand materials.
2. Avoid rushing to visit a trendy website until you are sure of the authenticity of the website.
In some cases, the website might be authentic from owner but has a security loophole can be exploited by a hacker. A hacker can exploit a vulnerable website and embed a Trojan that captures visitors footprint.
The default web browser in your mobile devices stores your digital footprint the of any website you visit and online forms you fill your personal data like your NIN, Mobile Number, email, Names, Date of Birth, House address, Created passwords, etc. This happens if you have not changed the default browser settings to stop the browser from storing your data
By the intent of the web browser developers, they want to help you not to retype all these information all over again anytime you want to fill similar information on different websites. This information gets stored in browsers cache and it is retrieved for you when try to enter similar information.
Your DEFAULT WEB BROWSER is the default browser that opens a web link when you click any link in any part of the mobile device.
For instance, in most Samsung phones, built-in Samsung browser is the default, but people tend to prefer loading another major browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and make any of two their default.
Let’s say your Default browser is Google Chrome. That means, any web link you click opens up on chrome.
To avoid personal data from being stored in Chrome browser, when you want to visit certain website especially ones you don’t know or feel safe, you need a browser that does not store your footprint.
Welcome to Mozilla Firefox FOCUS Browser.
Focus is a browser built with security in mind.
My recommendation:
Install Focus as your second browser. When you want to visit an untrusted website, copy the URL, launch FOCUS and load it on FOCUS browser, browse it there.
Once you close Focus, it destroys your footprint (browsing history) immediately.
I am Young, D
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