Ana Gómez Blanco

Scammers adapt quickly to new trends, exploiting them to lure new victims. An example that has gained notoriety in recent weeks: web sites promoting fraudulent Fortnite offers. Fortnite is a popular video game and is being used by cybercriminals as an enticement to misappropriate user data.

It’s technically complicated, but yes, if the webcam user doesn't follow some security precautions, it is possible. Furthermore, exploiting the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven an increase in teleworking, online classes, and all kinds of virtual meet-ups, cyber criminals are looking to profit by stepping up their attacks. Find out how to prevent others from unauthorized access to your web camera or videoconferences.

The arrival of COVID has forced many companies to figure out new ways of working, and to accepting the idea of allowing, where feasible, employees to work from home. These new alternative work arrangements may yield substantial sustainability, cost saving and productivity benefits, but also expose of corporate confidential information to new threats. In this context, adopting increased security habits becomes more important than ever.

With millions of people teleworking and communicating with each other online during the coronavirus crisis, email has become of the main tools for both professional and personal purposes. Now more than ever before, it is important to learn to detect cyber attacks that come in the form of emails, and follow the recommendations to protect ourselves from them.

Children and young people are particularly susceptible to the risks of the Internet. These risks are even more pronounced as the coronavirus imposes social distancing, causing our children to spend more of their day online than normal. Here are some suggestions that will help keep children safe when they are on social media.

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of COVID-19 and the new reality it has imposed: telecommuting hitting peak levels and huge amounts of information — and misinformation — circulating the Internet. Scammers are ramping up their activities as they try to maximize ill-gotten gains. We explain how these organized groups work, what attacks are the most common, and what we can do to protect ourselves.

Older people with limited knowledge about the digital world are especially vulnerable to Internet fraud. The frequency of these attacks has risen notably during COVID-19 social distancing, a time when hackers are taking advantage of the dramatic increase of user time online and the vulnerability of certain groups of people.

In an attempt to capitalize on coronavirus fears, scammers are launching new phishing campaigns with false tips against the virus or links to purchase personal protective equipment to spread their malware among victims or steal their personal information.

Everyone leaves a online footprint that could be easy to find, simply from being a member of a digital society. But by being aware of one’s footprint and learning how to control it, cyber criminals will have a much harder time finding possible victims. Here is some advice to do so.

November 30th has been designated the day to remind Internet users of important, day-to-day cybersecurity habits that help prevent them falling prey to scams, malware, or the loss of personal data. Here are some useful “cybertips” to help you browse the Internet worry-free.

"Good morning, we're calling from technical support. We've detected problems with your equipment and if they aren’t resolved soon, your computer will stop working." This is how one of the oldest IT scams of all time usually starts off, a scam that has reemerged as the value of data has soared, a technical support scam also popularly known as the Microsoft hoax.

To browse the internet safely and keep their computers properly up to date, users have a great ally: antivirus software. This quick guide will help you understand the value these tools provide, the protection they offer, and how to make the most out of them.

These are some of the strategies that a company can implement to prevent this increasingly popular kind of cybernetic scam which can affect any kind of business, both SMEs and large multinational firms.

This type of cyberattack –targeted at companies' employees – has been increasing steadily during the last year. The ‘CEO fraud’ can affect any type of company, from small family businesses to large multinationals and it is essential to understand how it works in order protect companies from it.

Although ransomware attacks (holding a victim’s data ransom) and phishing have recently become more and more frequent, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks continue to top of the lists of those techniques most used by cybercriminals.

Cybercriminals are using job search tools like LinkedIn to access the personal data of thousands of users. This is why it is so important to know how to identify and protect yourself against this threat.

In the business world, the CISO or Chief Information Security Officer is the person responsible for ensuring and upgrading information security within the organization. At home, we can apply many of the basic principles that are foundation of the CISO role to protect and preserve our family’s private information. No matter how daunting the task may seem at first, it is really not that hard to achieve this goal without being an expert on the subject.

Any company can fall victim to this kind of crime in which criminals trick an employee authorized to give bank payment orders into performing a transaction for them. Financial institutions like BBVA never request sensitive information, such as passwords or personal data, by email or outside of the secure environment on Net Cash and BBVA.es. For organizations, the key to preventing this kind of fraud is to reinforce control systems and  exercise great caution.

Email is a potential gateway for cyberattacks. You should therefore be careful when opening any messages. Those emails sitting in the spam or junk folder, though, are the most dangerous of all.

The concept of a 'dictionary attack', although it sounds like a fight in a library, refers to a method of hacking to break password-protected security systems.

Summer has come to an end, and the usual back-to-school season gets underway. It’s the time of the year to prepare school supplies, and it can also be a good time to take stock of our digital habits to be sure to start the year safely on the right foot:

What does rooting or jailbreaking a mobile device mean? Both verbs refer to the same action of removing the limitations that mobile device manufacturers impose to limit user access to the devices’ resources, thus becoming some sort of superuser. Root however is used when the action is performed on android devices, and jailbreak on iOS devices.

Virtually everybody today has a username and password. We are required to provide them to log on to popular online services, including social media, online stores and streaming services. By default, browsers will ask you if you want to save passwords to save you the trouble of typing them again. If you are inclined to answer ‘yes’, keep reading because you’ll find this information of use.

Throughout history, there have been several versions of the family and different models of relating with one another. The latest version is the family 2.0.

Malware, or malicious software, covers different programs which, when run in devices, cause different types of damage and complications such as interrupting their operations, disrupting how they work, stealing information and displaying unwanted advertising.

That surfing on the internet means leaving a trail of personal information is nothing new. Browsers gather preferences and habits thanks to the cookies installed in computers when surfing.

At this point, it's not surprising that apps that are spontaneously installed on our devices use our personal data in a number of ways.

There is no greater source of pride in the world than to see our children get ahead in life. Their achievements, their charms... It can be marvelous to share each moment of their progress with family members, friends and work colleagues. But is it a good idea to do so on social networks? Is this the right place to share this information?

The widespread use of mobile devices on a day-to-day basis brings with it the risk of very personal information such as bank details, photographs, messages, contacts and emails and a long list of private details falling into unwanted hands.

Social engineering, which is nothing more than psychologically manipulating victims to provide the information that cyber-criminals need to make illegitimate access to their computers, has become the protagonist of a long list of cyber-attacks.

Exhibitionism is one of the defining traits of today’s society. We have access to every imaginable way to take pictures, store them, upload them, share them and comment on them.

We live in a digital society. Technology and the Internet are part of the everyday lives of people and organizations. As technologies evolve, risks and threats evolve with them. We need to strengthen cybersecurity, but do we have the resources we need?

Toys are evolving at the same pace as technology.

Known as smart toys, they already incorporate technology. They can access the Internet, interact with children and compile all types of information that is put online.

Many cyber attacks are aimed at robbing personal data. Perhaps you think your data doesn´t matter to anyone, but you’re mistaken. In fact, that belief often causes us to lower our guard and not make an effort to protect our personal data as we should.

Have you heard of Trojans? You certainly must know the story of the Trojan horse. Just like the mythical horse that the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy without being noticed, these programs try to make their way into your computer without raising suspicions, opening a back door for a remote attacker to also enter.

The scam involves both customers and ATMs. Two or more people stand behind the victim, while he or she withdraws cash from the ATM. First, they try to see and memorize the PIN number or password for the victim’s card.

Today we celebrate International Mobile Phone Day in commemoration of the device that has become an essential part of our lives, profoundly changing society and the way we communicate.

We live with cell phones, but… Do we really know how to coexist with cell phones? Are we aware of all the information we put in our cell phones? Are we prepared to use them without compromising our security?