Google has recently released details on the growing trend of “manual hijacking” which has replaced “mass hijacking” in the past few years.
Our virtual identity is now of vital importance as all of our digital data and secrets such as our work and bank details, our passwords, social media accounts and purchase details can be tracked down by hackers. Losing online accounts is much more dangerous than losing physical assets as unlike the later online accounts are not insured.
Mass Hijacking is one of the most popular and a relatively easy method used by hackers to gain control of accounts on the web. This is an automatic process where systems which have already been compromised are used by hackers to send innumerable malware, spam and phishing messages to trap even more users and add even more systems to the already infected capon. In many cases this method is used by governments and various other state-aided organizations to attack and overpower other political institutions and corporate houses to gather top secret data or spy on their activities.
On the other hand “manual hijacking” is a relatively new concept where hackers target a specific target instead of a mass. These attacks are intricate, personal and requires a lot of time and much more technical knowhow. In this method a hacker spends a lot of time designing and developing a custom made phishing or malware message that has been tailor made by the cybercriminals to target one user only.
Google has been investigating the activities of these cybercriminals and is looking for various methods to make the worldwide web a much safer place for users.