Privacy, the Dark Web, and Hacker Devices

Brian Pichman

Brian Pichman, Director, Evolve Project, gave a presentation that was full of information and tips on hacking and protecting yourself and your library. He noted that formerly, nobody knew who you are (recall the well known New Yorker cartoon “on the internet, nobody knows you are a dog”). Today, your digital identity can be created even before you are born.

People attack for financial gain, to steal data, to see what they can do, and “just because”.

Bulletin boards arose when computers started entering our homes. When people wanted to meet in person, the “user group” was spawned and now large conferences have been formed. Competitions ensued; teams worked to find flaws; and individuals exposed flaws for fun or personal gain. Hacking went mainstream when larger ISPs were developed.

Hacking has evolved because of social media, but core values have not changed. A new cause, “Hactivism” was found, and cyber attacks ensued.

Top reasons why people want to hide their IP address are to:

• Hide their geographical location
• Prevent web tracking
• Avoid leaving a digital footprint
• Bypass any bans or blacklisting of their address
• Perform illegal acts without being detected.

How to hide

• Use free Wi-Fi and a secure web browser
• Use a private VPN
• Go back to Dialup

How to hide yourself

Tools to become a hacker

• Tor browser
• Telnet to a BBS
• Kodi
• Get a router that allows for VPN at the router.
• Install a second VPN client on the PC
• Social engineering (clever manipulation of the natural human tendency to trust)
• Write a batch file (Windows has a DOS hidden underneath)

Top hacker tools

BackTrack can get you a lot.

How to protect your library

You can never be 100% safe or unhackable. Don’t write your password down on a Post-It note.

How to protect you

• IdentityGuard and Lifelock are paid sites but they work.
• Sites to monitor when breached data gets related–haveibeenpwned.com
• Use password management sites. Don’thave the same password for all your sites.
• Google isn’t always your friend. Sometimes the first site listed is malicious.
• Dual factor authentication is an excellent defense.
• Treat your phone like a child and protect it.

Credit card tools:: Check out privacy.com that creates a random 1-time use credit card for free.

Invest in a security or recovery plan. Have as many safeguards as you can. You can’t have a good security plan without a recovery plan. Always test your system to make sure it works.