LAS VEGAS – Technology has made it easy to access almost anything from anywhere but all that convenience comes with a price.
Hackers can quickly gain access to your information, especially from your smart phone. A group of professional hackers gathered Tuesday to show how easy it is for consumers to lose vital information.
Justin Morehouse with ThreatSim works with big companies to hack into their computer systems and find weaknesses. He says because of basic identifiers in smart phones people can access information about the phone's owner.
"A lot of applications on your phone use that for authentication purposes. Instead of you having to sign into Facebook every single time, Facebook identifies the unique phone and automatically logs you in," Morehouse said.
He says the same process works for sites like banks or online retail accounts.
Plus, passwords may not offer the protection that most people think they do. A well-trained hacker can get information about a person's likes and dislikes, friends and family. That information could help someone figure out a password.
The professional hackers say that smart phones are computers but most do not have the same kind of security. One expert says people developing applications are often not concerned about security.
"Do not go and download 100 applications because you just want to play around. Do you really need this application? Is it a game? What are you going to use it for?" professional hacker Wayne Burke suggested.
The experts say it is not just phones that are at risk. The hottest new target for hackers are tablet computers.
