As a consultant, when I design server systems for customers, one of the requirements is to address security issues – whether it’s communication issues, file permissions, access permissions etc, etc..
One of my personal hobbies, when it comes to security, is to research various gadgets and other systems in terms of security, follow vendor’s track records about security holes and remote updates etc. I published few articles in Hebrew on my other blogs, but hopefully I’ll start publishing them in this blog in the near future.
Now, lets talk about wealthy people, those who made their 1st million, 5 millions, 10 millions etc – whether they made it because of their successful business, through social media – or both.
Once such a person becomes wealthy or he’s/her’s business becomes successful, he/she will have to consider the following issues, no matter who they are:
- You never know who is watching you, follows you and their intentions.
- Lots of people are so envy at the success of this person, and those people will try to do anything to take this successful person DOWN, whether it’s by publishing lies, cheating this person, etc…
- If this wealthy person has a successful business – then many people and companies will try either to steal (literally) products, copy the products or spread fake news/reviews about the product.
- Your personal life becomes “fair game” for hacking. Your smartphone/tablet Can be hacked, no matter if you have the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or any other smart phone, there are tools in the market which performs those hacks, and one day you can find your personal pictures etc available on the net.
Same thing can be said on “smart” devices – While Apple, Google and Amazon is taking security seriously, others .. not so much, so those security camera’s that can be bought for $300 – many of them can be hacked to get a live video of the house – straight to the hacker’s computer..
- You’re helping potential hackers and thieves to steal from you by publishing pictures and videos from your house. A video clip can be paused, move frame by frame and get details in order to steal information or real items from you. Think I’m lying? take any celeb’s Instagram’s pictures from his house (lets say – 100 pictures) and you can basically build a “map” of his house from these pictures.
So, what can those wealthy people do? few things:
- Find an independent security consultant (who has a vast knowledge in computer security field – check his credentials first!) and show him/her your devices and systems and ask for his/her recommendations. In many cases, you might need to replace your gadget with something that has some good security features built in and constantly being updated to your device.
- DO NOT publish a “home tour” or a “collection tour” video on the net! Security personnel can be neutralized, security systems (specially the ones who didn’t get an update for at least a year) can be hacked and allow access without any numbers combination/retina’s scan/finger print – and all your precious items can be stolen while you’re abroad. Insurance might cover it, but that won’t help much in terms of personal losses (precious/rate items).
- If you’re publishing pictures from home, try to always publish from the same place/spot inside your home.
- If you have personal pictures/videos or any content that you’ll do anything to prevent it from being published – take it off the cloud and your devices (including iCloud) and store it offline (ask your local tech guru about options). Few pictures could kill a career!
- If you have a company who produces products and you fear that these products will be stolen – then go and consult a security firm about your products, places that it will be parked/warehouses, and consult a good lawyer firm about IP protection.
I’ll conclude this post by saying something simple to any wealthy person – once you become wealthy, lots of things needs to change if you care about your privacy, your money, your security. Take it seriously and listen to the professional people before running and publishing tons of stuff that could create troubles for you.
Note: this post is not for any commercial reason. I do not provide a personal consulting services (unless it’s for Servers and IT). Nevertheless, if you want to ask generic question about security, feel free to post in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer.