By now some of us probably know the risks of watching pornography. To catch you up, science and research have shown that a porn habit can come at the price of harming relationships, personal costs, physical issues it can cause, tragic links to human trafficking, and violence, to name a few.
Every one of these issues, either separately or combined, is enough to stop an incredible amount people from consuming pornography for good, but for others, these issues may seem too distant, or too big of a societal issue for any one person to address on their own.
But what about the risk leaking private information, stolen data, and harm to your hard drive? Now, that’s getting personal.
Cyber Hackers
“Your personal information is safe and secure on the internet,” said no person ever.
Storing your personal information online is not as private as you may think. Yes, this can be true for any and all worldwide websites (it’s naive to think that in this day and age that any data stored online is safe from hackers) but the same is also true—maybe even more so—for popular porn sites.
Internet hacks and fake phishing scams are becoming all too common in our tech-driven society, and the same is true for the ever-growing popular porn sites. Remember in late 2016 when the names of nearly 800,000 registered users of the porn site Brazzers were exposed in a data breach? What about when 400+ million user details were leaked from various sketchy “adult” websites?
Both cases involved personal information—which was meant to be kept private—that was stolen by cyber hackers and shared for the rest of the world to see. That doesn’t sound like a totally risk-free habit to us.
How They Do It
As porn sites become more mainstream, it opens the door for more sensitive data to be hacked. It seems like it’s just a matter of time before the next big breach.
A recent article published by UK news site The Sun reports that more than 300,000 instances of porn-themed hack-attacks were reported in 2017 alone, according to internet security company Kaspersky. These attacks, which targeted more than 50,000 computers around the world, often attempted to hack accounts found on popular porn websites in order to sell that information on the “dark web.” Kaspersky says porn consumers are particularly at risk because they’re unlikely to report the crime because they would “have to admit they were looking for or watching porn.”
So how exactly are these cyber hackers duping porn consumers?
There are various tactics, including getting users who are actively searching for porn to click on fake but incredibly realistic links that direct them to a phishing site. These usually show a convincing warning about their device being infected while the virus proceeds to snatch all their data.
Another scam mimics sex dating services, asking thirsty internet users to enter their credit card details to see their “potential meet-ups,” which are then nabbed by hackers.
Some scams involve scare tactics, or “scareware,” where a device’s screen is locked with a message stating that illegal content (usually child porn) has been detected. Users are then prompted to pay ransom to the hackers before they can continue searching for porn.
It’s important to note here that we don’t condone this type of “hacktivism” (internet activism through the act of hacking, like in the Ashley Madison hack), but as an awareness campaign, we exist to help you know the very real risks you run when consuming any type of online porn.
Healthy Habits, Healthy Hard Drives
Shining a light on how consuming porn can leave consumers susceptible to cyber hacks is just another reason to ditch a porn habit for good.
The harms of visiting porn sites on the regular go beyond relational, physical and psychological harm—it can also harm your hard drive, and consumers have a right to know all the risks.
Want to avoid falling victim to a cyber hack attack? Take a hard pass on all kinds of pornography and sites that encourage sexual exploitation or objectification. Instead, choose love and enjoy a healthy relationship with yourself, your partner, and your hard drive.
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