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If you’ve been paying attention to the news for the past six months or so, you would know that hackers have a spotlight on them like never before. They are being talked about by everyone from government officials, to reporters, to even your friends, family and coworkers. But before you start labeling yourself a hacking expert just because you have Mr. Robot on “season pass”, you need to understand where they are, why they do it, and most importantly… how to protect yourself from network threats.

CHINA – When is the “Year of the Hacker”? Most cyber-security experts believe China is home to the largest number of them. China promotes the hacker-lifestyle/culture among its highly-educated youth, so you can be assured that the next generation of cyber-geniuses are on the way. Many of them are supported by China’s government and their sole purpose is to hack into U.S. government networks and our allies in the West.

RUSSIA – Russian hackers? No way! You don’t say?! Faster than you can say “Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear”, Russia has really put a stamp on the title of newest cyber threat, especially after the DNC hack during the 2016 election. The global attack traffic generated from Russian sponsored hackers has made secure networks like Google, Facebook, and Apple, very vulnerable.

UNITED STATES – The United States of America accounts for nearly 10% of the world’s attack traffic. It’s home to many famous (infamous?) hackers. One of the U.S. government’s most recent cyber attacks happened a couple of years ago, when a Trojan virus was planted into an Iranian Nuclear Power Plant to disrupt the centrifuges. USA! USA! USA!

ROMANIA – Now that we got the world powers out of the way, watch out for Romania sneaking up on the big boys of the cyber world. There is an area in Romania called Ramnicu Valcea where a hub of criminal hackers exist. In fact, most of the cyber attacks from Romania can be traced to this one specific location. It’s believed that infamous hacker “Guccifer 2.0” (one of the DNC hackers) is Romanian.

These are scary, unsettling times for countries, organizations, businesses (large and small), when it comes to protecting information. So what can you do to protect it against hackers from all around the globe? Don’t wait to get attack and then try to solve the issue. Be ready and prepare by doing some basic steps:

• Update your OS and other software frequently, if it doesn’t occur automatically.
• Download up-to-date security programs (antivirus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, etc.)
• Password protect all of your devices, and make sure the passwords are difficult and change them every couple of months.
• Practice smart surfing and emailing to avoid phishing campaigns.

The world is pretty big place, but more and more victims of cyber attacks are proving this is actually a pretty small world.