Streaming services have become a necessity for people living and working at home over the last year. The ability to stream movies, music and television shows has kept millions occupied.
Although we might like to think that the only danger posed by a streaming service is that too many friends and family members are using our account right now, the truth is more complex. You simply cannot assume a streaming service is secure these days, and here’s why.
Too Many People Use the Same Credentials for Streaming and More
Using the same credentials for various services provides hackers with a skeleton key with which they can access multiple accounts from a single person if they get their information.
Anywhere from 50-75% of people admit to using the same password for multiple accounts, and that includes their streaming service. The more passwords people have to remember, the higher the chances they are going to reuse them.
Complicating this issue is that people reuse the same emails across many accounts, meaning that a hacker only has to get their hands on one streaming service’s data and then plug that information in across other platforms.
Streaming Services Are Constantly Under Attack
Many people fail to treat their streaming service credentials with the same respect that they would use for a bank account or credit card login. The reasons boil down to the belief that streaming services are not often targets of hackers combined with the idea that these services are rarely attacked.
Neither of those assumptions is true, though. It’s estimated that 10% of all streaming service users have had their accounts hacked. That’s millions of passwords that are then shared or sold online for access to your accounts. Considering that people share their credentials across platforms, the service hacks can have a cascading impact on users.
Password Sharing Helps Hackers Every Day
Another problem that emerges with hackers is that many people give their passwords to their friends and family members. It only takes one slip-up from someone you are trying to help, and your information could be compromised along with theirs.
This situation happens every day and it is becoming more common.
Hackers Have Become Adept at Impersonating Streaming Services
The last reason that you should not assume your safety on a streaming service is that hackers are becoming better at impersonating these providers. When someone gets an email from their Netflix account that says, “Account verification needed”, they reflexively click links and log into their accounts.
Like we’ve said, people tend to overlook their streaming services as security threats, so they will click links from emails that appear to be from them without a second thought. Not helping matters is that hackers will often have a piece of their credentials, like an email address, to start with. Sharing passwords and emails only makes this process easier for hackers.
Streaming services are not the paragon of security that people would like to believe. The average person uses the same passwords too often to be safe, and they forget that hackers value information as much as money.
Lax personal security along with emboldened hackers should make everyone reconsider their approach to streaming services.
