A white and blue billboard, a stage, and two chairs in the middle of Times Square to connect passers-by with three ethical hackers. That’s all NordVPN needed to crash New Yorkers’ misconceptions about online security, starting with a simple question: Are you half-naked online?
A handful of minutes was enough for Marijus Briedis (CTO at NordVPN), Adrianus Warmenhoven (cybersecurity advisor at NordVPN), and Liron Segev (the popular YouTuber known as TheTechieGuy) to reveal to participants how really they are exposed online.
The “Talk to a hacker” stunt is part of a broader campaign for NordVPN. The company is on a mission to help Americans understand that even the best antivirus solutions account for only half of the online protection everyone needs to stay safe on the internet.
It comes after some disappointing responses from Americans to NordVPN’s latest survey.
A staggering 73% of Americans still believe their antivirus software protects them from identity theft, guarantees online privacy, and secures their data on public Wi-Fi networks. Yet, an antivirus’s job is rather to defend your device from malware and viruses instead.
“Such widespread misunderstanding about online protection is exactly why we created this campaign,” said Toma Sabaliauskiene, CMO at NordVPN.
“Americans are walking around with a dangerous false sense of security. It’s like installing a sophisticated alarm system on your front door while leaving all your windows wide open. Our Times Square experience demonstrated this vulnerability live and up close.”
Americans’ interests, addresses, and even passwords exposed
A flock of curious New Yorkers gathered around NordVPN’s billboard on Thursday, October 16. Yet, those who actually took part in the initiative walked out with a new certainty – they are not as private and secure online as they think.
The three hackers generated detailed reports about participants that revealed how their most sensitive data was exposed online. These include their passwords, phone numbers, home addresses, Social Security numbers, and sometimes even the make and model of the car they drive.
The amount of details available was so personal that the hackers were even able to identify people’s interests and most-used usernames, as well as name their favorite bands.
“We saw genuine shock on people’s faces as they realized just how exposed they really were. Many were visibly stunned to learn that their current software had been giving them a false sense of security all along,” said Sabaliauskiene.
That moment of surprise and realization was exactly what NordVPN was aiming for with this campaign.
A virtual private network (VPN) certainly isn’t a magic wand, either. Yet, it’s a crucial tool to help you minimize your digital footprint while making it harder to track you online from site to site. It does so by encrypting all your internet connections and spoofing your real IP address.
A secure VPN is especially important to protect yourself when connecting to a pubic Wi-Fi – something that nearly 40% of Americans said to do, but more than half of them without protection.
NordVPN even includes its Threat Protection Pro tool to protect users from online scams, malware, and annoying ads. We still recommend, however, bundling this with a proper antivirus software.
Online threats are becoming increasingly multifaceted, and so should be your security. And remember, “While people rightly worry about Social Security numbers and credit card details, a leak of contact details is often the critical first domino to fall,” NordVPN warns.
If you missed your chance to get your digital persona scanned by NordVPN experts, no need to worry. Everyone, in and out of the US, can do so by heading to nordvpn.com/half to access the company’s dedicated campaign page.
There, you’ll have the chance to use NordVPN’s Dark Web Monitor tool free of charge to check if your data is already exposed on the dark web, while learning how to strengthen your online protection.
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chiara.castro@futurenet.com (Chiara Castro)
