Today we will be placing a focus on Google Photos and hacking. Did you know that if a hacker manages to access your Google account, they will be able to see your Google photos too and if they happen to be sensitive, then they will be able to misuse the information?

Google photos and hacking; how hackers misuse the information in your Google Photos?

If a Google account user registers in third-party apps such as social media apps, using his Google account, google will store all his photos in Google Photos. When a hacker manages to break into that account, he will be able to access Google Photos too. The sensitivity of the information stored in Google Photos will determine the level of risk the user will face. If Google Photos has copies of scanned sensitive documents such as bank details, and contractual agreements, then you will be at risk of losing important information as well as finances. If the account has sensitive photos and videos such as nude pictures, then the hacker will distribute those photos especially if he aims to harm you

I had the privilege to work on a client’s Google account and got to discover thousands of histories stored in the folder Google Photos. At that moment, I was creating space in his Gmail account that had been full. Upon analysis of the amount of emails he had, no amount of deletion created enough space in the account. The only condition that Gmail gave was purchasing additional space that needed more money. I took time to maneuver through the account and discovered a whole large history of videos and photos in Google Photos, and the category had occupied much space. This wasn’t just history but it was sensitive history; nude pictures, scanned images, tiktok videos

Google photos and hacking; SENSITIVE INFORMATION THAT COULD GET STORED IN GOOGLE PHOTOS

• Sensitive documents. Scanned sensitive documents like reports, passports, and ATM Card pictures can expose you to danger as I earlier on said. The information those documents contain is sensitive enough to allow hackers to access your bank account, duplicate your identity at crime scenes, and cause enough chaos in your life
• Nude pictures. Much as social media allows private accounts. There is a possibility of those nude pictures getting leaked through Google Photos. Have you ever wondered why people’s private information gets leaked even when they don’t expect it to?
• Videos that damage your reputation. What we watch speaks a lot about us. If your Google account has TikTok videos of online dating and you are married, the videos are leaked and shared with your partner to damage your reputation

One thing you should do today is check your Gmail account and access your Google Photos to verify the histories that have been stored there.

Google photos and hacking; steps below to check the Google photos stored in your Google account

• Step 1: Login into your Gmail account on your desktop
• Step 2: On the top right corner of your screen next to your profile picture, click on the nine dots, a menu of all Google apps will be displayed in a small dialogue box. Scroll down and click on the photos
• Step 3: A list of photos stored from various third-party apps shall be displayed. Delete the sensitive ones

Although Google may guarantee that the photos it stores are very safe, there’s no doubt if a hacker manages to access your Google account, the photos will not be private anymore regardless of the encryption involved. Here are links to my previous posts just to enable you to stay more secure on the web

You may want to read about search histories as well

Other cyber security articles in this blog