Am I hacked or not?

Being hacked simply means that someone has broken into digitally. There are of course many possibilities for this, namely on an internet router, computers, website, e-mail account, social media or actually any form of account that is personally yours.

A hacker who has done this must of course have a goal for it and that can be to steal certain information. Perhaps the misuse of data or identity or simply blackmail.

But why would someone hack you? There could be several reasons why someone tries this. Maybe your devices contain important company data that a competitor wants to know about. Does your spouse want to know if there is a possible affair or someone wants to hack into your checking account.

Do you have an important job or a job with a lot of responsibility? For example, scientists, journalists, judges, or other government officials can all be potential targets for bad guys.

What kinds of hacks do we hear all too often?

Now the latter is of course super difficult because possibilities change every day and vulnerabilities are discovered every hour.
Below are a number of examples that are particularly good to know or to think about.

1. Has my internet provider router been hacked?

This is always very difficult to say, you can assume that a router at your home or work from an official provider is generally quite safe. A router is simply a conduit. The provider has often already taken all kinds of measures at a higher level to ensure that you are safe. No one can just access your router from the internet.

If it is the case that they can access your router, then there is a very high chance that they can only look. Think, for example, in certain log files or see which devices are connected or what the setting of, for example, your WiFi is. Not very exciting in itself, but not if the router also stores which websites you visit and what their data is, and that is really turned off by default.

Your WiFi is the weakest point. Especially because the passwords that come with a router are quite standard or easy to calculate if you know the type of router. In addition, there are many people who simply use a too simple password for their Wifi and thus give access to the Wifi network. At that time, of course, abuse can be used to access devices. The advantage is that the hacker has to be close to your WiFi.

So make sure there is always a good firewall present and regularly change the passwords of your router and your WiFi, it might be super annoying to give all devices access again, but so safe.

The chance that you will be hacked on this is of course present, but not very simple and great, always remember that a hacker must have a goal to do this to you and must invest a lot of time and effort in it.

2. Has my cell phone been hacked?

A phone that has been hacked always raises some standard questions for us. Why is that? Actually very simple.

It is very difficult to break into a phone because it simply continuously changes the IP address from which you get the internet as you move. This means that a phone hack actually only happens when you are at home. Or when you are connected to your WiFi that has been hacked. It is also possible that someone has cloned your phone or had it in their hands to install something on it that makes everything transparent.

How someone can often see what everything has on your phone is because you use Google Playstore / Google cloud or iCloud and the hacker has the data of this and thus has access to your data.

It is always the case that an ANDROID or other type of phone is simply easy to hack. Removing or detecting spyware on such a device is extremely difficult and often impossible to do yourself. Do you have an IPHONE or an IOS/APPLE device? Then the chance that your phone contains spyware is considerably smaller. Make sure the device is always up-to-date and prefer not to use iCLOUD. Then it is virtually impossible to use spyware undetected.

The chance that your phone has been hacked is present, but also fairly small here, but not if someone is really working with you and also has some money for it.

Feel free to read our article about this: 10 Signs To Determine If Your Phone Has Spyware.

3. Has my social media or other account been hacked?

A hack on a social media account or similar unfortunately happens a lot and the cause is almost the same every time, the password has been leaked. Sometimes it may even be that someone has access to your account without you knowing and just reads everything.

For each account, check whether there is a possibility to check whether there are devices unknown to you (and their IP address often too) to give an example. Facebook to “settings” and then to “security”. There you will find “Where you are logged in”.

The chance that you will be hacked here is high if you do not take your online security into account. In this case, the hacker can be anyone and often difficult to trace. Also check your own e-mail address regularly Have i been pawned to see if the password you are using has been leaked.

Most importantly, update your password regularly, make one long sentence instead of a short password, they are really more secure. Always use a two-step verification via your phone or an app on every account Google Authenticator

4. Can my TV be hacked?

We hear this quite a lot, a TV that suddenly switches off or switches from channel or suddenly shows texts. Have you been hacked? As a child it was already a sport to tease the neighbors a bit with your own remote control if they had the same TV at home, this can of course also be the case now. In addition, many TVs nowadays are 'smart' televisions that are often connected to the internet on the basis of Android and have various 'stream' options.

In general, you have to be connected to the local network to show things on the TV, this is also possible from the internet, but extremely difficult because of course the makers of all TVs ensure that it is as safe as possible.

If your TV does things that it should not do at that moment, chances are that someone in your immediate vicinity will do this who also has access to your local network.

5. Can my smart devices be hacked?

The simplest answer is Yes! This is perhaps the biggest problem right now. Where telephones, accounts and computers are reasonably secured and are protected with a good scanner.

A smart device often does not have that and the current routers often do not shield it well. This is always a risk, especially if it is a smart device that is connected to the internet. A device uses so-called firmware, which is hackable.

It totally depends on the device what a hacker can do with it next. The greatest risk is that the WiFi password is often stored on such a device. In this way, access to the local network can be obtained.

Certainly a risk in this zeitgeist, but also difficult to implement for an average hacker.

Could it be that you have been hacked?

It can always be the case of course, especially when it comes to point 3! Unfortunately, after an extensive (and expensive) investigation, we often notice that this is not often the case for all other points. It's more of a false sense of insecurity.

Also don't forget that a hacker always has a certain goal, now it is often the case for an (ex) partner that it comes to stalk or check you and that he has asked someone to 'arrange' it. A real hacker will not just do everything for you without it generating money. Most have only one goal and that is to make as much money as possible.

Also, a hacker will not do his work to 'destroy you', in this case it is also about the same thing, namely he or she gets money for doing it to you from someone.

A fixed tip! Always use a VPN to connect to the internet. This ensures that you remain extra safe. We recommend CyberGhost for this.

Do you still want to have an investigation conducted, do you have questions or need specific advice? Do not hesitate to call us: 020-3690030

Other links:
Our service: Cybercrime investigation
Our service: Digital forensics
Our service: Protect yourself against cybercrime
Our service: Hack control phone or laptop
Instruction manual: Your privacy settings on HelpWanted social media