Doxing: The term simply explained

The term doxing is not new, but what exactly is it about? It's about hackers, privacy, and data security. But where does the term come from?

Doxing - When hackers steal and publish their data

Data security and data protection are always required in the media and by the BSI. However, hackers often want to circumvent these measures.

• Doxing or doxxing comes from the English word "documents" or "docs" for short.
• In the modern Internet style "dox".
• The word therefore describes how data is handled.
• Ultimately, it is the illegal collection of data and its publication.
• This term came to fame when a young man leaked data from hundreds of politicians, celebrities and their families.

Protection against hacker attacks

There are a few things you can do to better protect yourself from attacks.

• Keep your software up to date and use virus scanners and firewalls.
• Do not open email attachments from unknown sources.
• Use complex passwords with numbers, special characters, and upper and lower case.
• Encrypt USB sticks and hard drives.
• Avoid using social logins from Facebook or other portals to curb data loss.
• Give away as little sensitive data on the Internet as possible, because even the previous measures cannot guarantee 100% security against hackers and doxing.

How to correctly set data protection and secure your privacy in Windows 10, read the next article.