What you need to know about hackers mirroring your smartphone
It’s one thing for Facebook and Instagram to use your search history and online activity and appear to know what you are thinking to find what ads are relevant to your interests.
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But it’s another for your phone screen to be mirrored by a hacker to use your device against you.
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“Hackers carry out illegal phone mirroring to access personal information, for financial gain or to track your location, steal your identity or even blackmail you,” said Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN.
“They can perform this intrusion without your consent through malware or spyware obtained from malicious links, man-in-the-middle attacks or physical access.”
What’s scary is that phone mirroring isn’t easy to spot, as the feature lets you cast your phone’s screen to another device (like a television or monitor) and is commonly used at home and at work.
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But there are some things to watch for such as odd noises during calls, rapid battery discharge, random screen activity or a spike in data usage.
Other warning signs include unusual logins on your Google, Facebook or iCloud accounts as well as fake virus alerts and unexpected reboots.
For cybercriminals, it can become a tool for them to spy on you and gather personal information like photos, passwords, private conversations and even your real-time location.
“When viewing photos or videos on your phone, someone mirroring your device can also access and screenshot them, potentially for malicious purposes such as blackmail or to pinpoint your geolocation,” Briedis explained.
“On a mirrored phone, hackers can track your movements using apps like Google Maps, gaining insights into your location and future plans, especially if they have been discussed via messaging apps or text messages.”
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To execute phone mirroring, hackers often trick users into installing what appears to be legitimate software — but is actually spyware or malware that captures a phone’s screen activity.
Phishing tactics, such as sending misleading emails with bad links that once clicked install malware, allow them to monitor their victim’s device.
Hackers also intercept communications between devices by using unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.
By creating unique, complex passwords — none of this “1-2-3-4” or “P-A-S-S-W-O-R-D” business — or activating two-factor authentications can help.
Learn to recognize phishing emails. Trust your gut; if a message rubs you the wrong way or has you questioning it in the slightest, you are probably right to be suspicious.
Also, often just keeping your phone’s operating system and apps updated can go a long way.
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