What is Staying Anonymous?

Staying anonymous online is the process of protecting your personal information and identity from being associated with your Digital Footprint. This means taking steps to reduce the chances that someone can identify or trace you when you’re engaging in activities online, such as visiting websites, using email or participating in social networks. With proper measures in place, it is possible to remain almost completely anonymous while surfing the web.

Why Do Cyber Criminals Stay Anonymous?

Cyber criminals use anonymity to protect themselves from law enforcement and other authorities that are hunting them down. It helps them keep their identity hidden and avoid detection when performing malicious activities, such as stealing data or accessing a computer system without  permission. Without anonymity, cyber criminals would be much easier to track and prosecute for their activities.

How Do Cyber Criminals Stay Anonymous?

Cyber criminals have a variety of techniques that they use to stay anonymous online. These include using proxies or virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their IP address; utilising Tor browser,  which is a secure browser that encrypts your data; using encrypted email services and anonymous payment systems to help keep their identity unknown. They may also use multiple machines with different IP addresses or create fake identities to further disguise themselves.

What are the Dangers of This?

The dangers of staying anonymous online are two-fold. Firstly, cyber criminals can use their anonymity to hide their activities from law enforcement and other authorities, making it much harder for them to be tracked down and prosecuted. Secondly, the techniques used by cyber criminals to stay anonymous can also potentially be used by innocent users who wish to remain private online for legitimate reasons. This can lead to criminals taking advantage of these users and using their anonymity for malicious activities, such as identity theft or data breaches.

In conclusion, staying anonymous online is a necessary measure for cyber criminals to protect themselves from law enforcement and other authorities. However, it also poses a risk to innocent users who may not have the same level of knowledge or experience when it comes to protecting their digital footprints. Therefore, it is important that everyone takes steps to protect their identity and personal information online.

Conclusion

Cyber criminals often rely on anonymity in order to carry out malicious activities without being identified or tracked down. Staying anonymous can involve using proxies, VPNs, Tor browser, encrypted email services and anonymous payment systems. Although this provides criminals with a way to stay hidden from authorities, it also poses risks for innocent users who may not have the same level of knowledge or experience when it comes to protecting their digital footprints. Therefore, it is important for everyone to take appropriate steps to protect their privacy and personal information online. Listen below to hear our consultants discuss this topic in more depth or for more ThreatBites click here. Here at DarkInvader, we provide a range of features, including Threat Intelligence & OSINT, to help the combat the threat of a cyber attack against your business.