This blog post will answer the question, Can hackers access your email? It will also cover how hackers can access your email and the different methods they use to do so. It outlines what hackers can do with access to your email. This article also talks about the preventative measures that can be taken to avoid your email from being hacked.
Can hackers access your email?
Yes hackers can access your email. Hackers have sophisticated methods to target and access one’s emails. Hackers target emails because they contain a lot of sensitive information like transactions, registrations, passwords etc. This information is very valuable to hackers in order to perform other attacks.
The average person has no knowledge of how cyber criminals work in the digital space. As safe-crackers find access to extremely secure environments, criminals appear to be sneaking into computers and networks as magic.
No, it is not magic. If more people knew how easy it is for hackers to hack into people’s email accounts and cause damage, they would definitely set up strong passwords, change their passwords regularly, and use email software.
Hackers have a lot of sophisticated methods to hack into people’s emails. Once an email is compromised, they can then go on to cause a lot of damage by stealing sensitive information and also cause financial loss.
In general, there are many types of attacks that can be performed in order to compromise someone’s email. Let us discuss the three most common types of attacks that hackers use in order to access someone’s email.
The three most common cyber attacks that can be used to access someone’s emails are Phishing, Man in the Middle attack and password guessing attacks.
1. Phishing
The most common form of e-mail fraud is cyberbullying or phishing. Theft of sensitive information through phishing attacks is a widely used method because it is simple, affordable, and very effective and attacks the weak link in any security system that is considered as people.
Theft of sensitive information is usually committed by sending an email that appears to be legitimate and sending the recipient to a fake website and causing him or her to enter information to “verify” themselves, which is then stolen. Emails may also request the recipient to download something that appears to be legal but ends up being a malicious malware program.
The Anthem breach is alleged to have been initiated through a criminal phishing scheme to steal sensitive information.
2. Man in the Middle Attack (MITM)
The MITM attack is when a cybercriminal secretly transmits communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly. When emails are sent between two parties, unless BOTH parties use encryption the message is open and can be read by anyone who receives it.
The quickest way to know if an email is at risk especially for MITM is to receive an email from someone else and be clearly written. Any emails sent and received from mailboxes that send only explicit text emails should be regarded as security credits.
3. Guess the Password(Brute Forcing)
Good old guess is another way a criminal can gain access to email. This can be particularly dangerous in terms of how much personal information is posted online via social media, making it easier for cybercriminals to obtain birthdays, phone numbers or family names that are commonly used as passwords and security questions.
Once hackers get access to your email, they can cause a lot of damage. Here are some ways hackers can exploit the access to your email.
Scam Your Contact List
This is where most hackers start. When they log into your email account, they also gain access to your digital contact list. If you ever received an anonymous email from a friend asking you to click on a link or send money, chances are you may be hacking an account. The purpose of the link is to infect your computer or money into hackers.
Multiple Email Scams
Once the criminals have finished identifying your contacts, they will likely move on to larger email scams. They do this by using your email address to send multiple emails to a list of anonymous recipients.
Phishing scams attempting to get recipients to click on a spam link, download a malicious file, or send information or money is a common occurrence.Cybercriminals rarely use the tracked email addresses behind them. Why should they use the address that leads to you?
Breaching Devices & Programs
With strong password protection, secure email service, and some common sense, such as not clicking spam links or downloading malicious files. This gives you an opportunity to avoid the theft of your email.
If it is stolen, however, chances are that even the HIPAA encryption standards will not prevent hackers from accessing your computer, programs, attached mobile devices, your cloud, and online shopping accounts.
Most people put all their eggs in one basket. If cybercriminals have access to your email, they may have an open door for any number of other devices and accounts. They may use your email to reset some account passwords, gain access to credit information, or even delete accounts, such as social media profiles.
Damaging Your Online Dignity
With strong password protection, secure email service, and some common sense, such as not clicking spam links or downloading malicious files. This gives you an opportunity to avoid the theft of your email.
If it is stolen, however, chances are that even the HIPAA encryption standards will not prevent hackers from accessing your computer, programs, attached mobile devices, your cloud, and online shopping accounts.
Most people put all their eggs in one basket. If cybercriminals have access to your email, they may have an open door for any number of other devices and accounts. They may use your email to reset some account passwords, gain access to credit information, or even delete accounts, such as social media profiles.
These attacks are simple, affordable and very effective. Using these attacks, hackers can compromise emails within minutes. It is very important to protect your email using strong password protection, secure email service, and some common sense, such as not clicking spam links or downloading malicious files.
This gives you an opportunity to avoid the theft of your email.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question, Can hackers access your email? We understood how hackers can access your email. We also discussed some mechanisms they have at their disposal to compromise your emails. It also outlines the methods one can use to prevent and stop email attacks. We also talked about the email exploits that can be done once the hackers have access to your email.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Can hackers access your email?
How does your email get hacked?
Emails get hacked by a lot of attacks. Hackers use different types of attacks to hack into peoples emails. Phishing attacks, Man in the middle attacks and brute force attacks are the most common attacks that are used to compromise emails and get access to them.
Can you get hacked with just your email?
Yes, you can get hacked with just your email. Once hackers get access to your email, they can do a lot of things and nothing can prevent hackers from accessing your computer, programs, attached mobile devices, your cloud, and online shopping accounts.