Now a common part of our vocabulary, we read about hacking daily as data spills and breaches make headlines, and major organisations warn their customers to check their bank statements carefully.

While it’s often a catch-all term applied to anything that compromises or negatively affects our computers, ‘hacking’ represents a particular kind of threat to your network and accounts.

How it works

Like breaking into someone’s home, thieves have to look for a way in. Using software code, either developed themselves or available in a ready-to-use kit online, hackers look at ways to gain access to a network. Often finding out a password is the first step in cracking a network’s security.

Once in, a hacker can modify how a network works, steal data, obtain passwords, get credit card information, watch what you are doing or install malicious software (malware) to further the attack.

While hacking is often highly targeted, some hacking tools such asransomware or phishing malware can spread on their own via links and attachments. Malware can compromise your system or accounts without someone specifically targeting you.