Home topics technology Modern cyber soldier with target matrix eye concept Devices Digital Security Devices The rise of visual hackers: Are you vulnerable? Daniel Jacobs October 8, 2015 We have all heard of ‘hacking’, but what about ‘visual hacking’? When we think of hackers we imagine a web savvy individual, breaking passwords and firewalls to glean confidential personal and business information. But for the eagle-eyed there’s already a wealth of data up for grabs in the public arena thanks to our increasing use of mobile technology. From using our laptop work on the train to using our mobile to make transactions, most of us are unaware of the potential risks presented by visual hackers. A recent study by 3M found that in nearly nine out of ten attempts (88%), a white hat hacker was able to visually hack sensitive company information. Annelies Moens, privacy expert at Information Integrity Solutions Pty Ltd said “every time I’m on an airplane, waiting in an airport, on the train, waiting at the bus stop or even in my local café, I see business travellers and mobile employees plugging away on their laptops or smartphones with their screens in clear view of fellow travellers and diners. “Whether out of sheer boredom or actually being interested in what they see, people do fixate on laptop and mobile screens, Annelies said. Employees themselves may be bound by passwords and privacy policies and businesses may be investing thousands in data protection, but it’s not hard to appreciate the