How Hacks Happen: and how to protect yourself

by Mark Anthony Germanos, Brad Cracker, Holly Wolfe

In How Hacks Happen and how to protect yourself, you learn how hackers think, work, and exploit. The author presents fake web pages, shares where your passwords spread and explains how social media sites monetize personal information. How Hacks Happen is for anybody who feels technology is “too much to handle.” Let somebody else become the victim. You read How Hacks Happen. This hack happens every day. Do not fall into this trap. You go to work. You arrive late, of course, because traffic moved slower than it should. You’re frantic. You barely pay attention as you sit down at your desk and open your email. You see one that warns your Gmail password will expire within 24 hours. ‘“Click here” to reset the password and acquire your email within 24 hours or your account will be exterminated’ it says. You click. Never mind that you have not had your morning coffee yet and you’re still fuming about the slow commute. “Email is my lifeblood,” you mutter. “I better renew my account now because I cannot lose access.” You type your email address, daphneprancer@gmail.com and click Next. The trick is on you. It only looks like Gmail…How Hacks Happen is A Workbook (because life is not a spectator sport)* Passwords. Learn how hackers trick you into disclosing passwords, and how stolen passwords are available on the dark web. Stealing passwords, credit card numbers and social security numbers is not a crime, according to some hackers. Learn why...* Facebook. Learn how Facebook and other social media services record and use personal information you surrender (share). Too much sharing jeopardizes your identity, your physical security and your career. Learn why...* Solutions. Learn how to protect yourself, your secrets and your reputation. This may be a bitter pill to swallow, but we're talking about protecting you and your money from highly motivated hackers. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Learn how...A word from the Author. Your security is as strong as its weakest link, you. How Hacks Happen and how to protect yourself is my fourth book. I help 7-figure and 8-figure businesses grow their business, increase profits and protect secrets. I believe protecting PHI (Protected Health Information) and PII (Personally Identifiable Information) is something you have to do, and does not have to cost an arm and a leg. In the security business, the bar keeps rising because hackers keep getting better. I am an ethical hacker. “What does that mean,” you may ask. It means I use the skills, tools and tactics hackers use to exploit their victims, but I have a different agenda. I find your vulnerabilities and help you remediate them before the bad guys find them. It’s like asking the fire department to find ways a fire may start in your office before a fire happens.I also believe Benjamin Franklin’s “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies to security. You can invest to proactively protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your network, your assets and your secrets.You can take the opposite approach and deny your vulnerabilities exist. If auditors catch you, they fine you for your negligence. If a hacker finds and exploits your business, you incur a crippling cost to recover. Your reputation is damaged beyond repair.This is your managerial decision. I do technology decisions. I refer this to your wisdom.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2020

About the author

Mark Anthony Germanos authored the "AI Ain’t So Tough series" on Amazon KDP. The "AI Ain't So Tough" series presents artificial intelligence concepts in an easily understandable and consumable manner. Beginner topics like prompting, editing and polishing AI-generated content to your own voice appear alongside advanced topics like deepfakes, plagiarism and AI's power demands. After all, Mark named this series "AI Ain’t So Tough," not "AI is Too Tough."

Mark authored "How Hacks Happen and how to protect yourself." "How Hacks Happen" is a workbook that explores topics such as phishing attacks, social engineering, multifactor authentication, password security and social media data monetization. It is a workbook, not merely a book. Mark advises life is not a spectator sport.

Mark Anthony Germanos is a cybersecurity consultant, author and trainer based in the Greater Sacramento area. He is the virtual Chief Information Security Officer at Cyber Safety Net. He emphasizes keeping users safe online and protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of his clients' data, networks and reputations. He audits networks and documents the network security, or lack of security (Mark has seen a lot) then works with the principals to strengthen their network security. Things end up more stable, more secure and faster.

Since June 2023, Mark has also been working as a Professor for Pivot Technology School / State of Tennessee, where he provides CompTIA Security+ training to remote workers via Zoom.

Mark has a life, a wife and a dog. You can find him on LinkedIn and via Google searches.

Reviews

[Carlos mutua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to hacking

I have always been curious and concerned about how our email data sometimes get linked without us knowing. This book “How hacks happen” has broken it all down in an eye opening way.

The authors have done an outstanding job educating readers on various hacker profile and practical ways to protect ourselves from the threats posed by the black hat hackers. A fantastic resource for anyone looking to safeguard their digit life!

[DeLisa Lovett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative in a short 100 page read. Loved the solutions to protect yourself. Also as a reminder to stay diligent to protect tourself and your personal information.