Cyber criminals have expanded beyond nuclear power plants and military facilities to sneak into smart homes and IoT devices.

Although people have grown more security conscious and technology-savvy, the world of hacking is developing at a faster pace. To draw attention to this problem, scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev recently demonstrated how to steal data from a computer that had been disconnected from all networks.They used Fansmitter, a software that can select a desired file on a computer and transmit the information on it through the air, literally. 

How it works: The technology works on the premise that all information on a computer is in binary code, that is, either 1 or 0. In order to transmit a 1, the program launches a series of complicated calculations. The processor begins to work at full capacity, causing it to heat up and making the internal fan spin faster and louder. If it's slower and quieter, the program transmits a '0'. The noise is recorded on a nearby smartphone that is then broadcast to another source.

Expanding invasion range: To avoid being detected by an antivirus, modern hackers specialise in masking what they are doing. Usually they steal information discreetly, hiding it in a massive flow of data that does not cause suspicion. For instance, you can hide encrypted information in a video clip of a family gathering. There are many ways to hide information, which is why tracing them is almost impossible. For several years now, hackers have increased their working range to cover the 'Internet of Things', that is, all gadgets that work at home and have net work connectivity. From credit cards and cars to servers that contain medical information on patients, nothing is safe from hackers.

The dawn of cyber crime: Leaders across the world worry about the compromise of computer systems. It is believed that the era of cyber crime began in 1983, when a student, Kevin Mitnick, breached ARPANET -the pre decessor of the modern internet. He was able to infiltrate computer systems at the Pentagon and gained access to all files at the US Department of Defense. Several years later, 16-yearold Jonathan James hacked into NASA's server  and stole the source code for the International Space Station.Since then, the number of cyber crimes has rapidly increased.

As a result your smart home becomes vulnerable: Smart home systems that combine several household appliances into one and have network access are of a particular interest to hackers. The refrigerator, alone, provides endless creative possibilities since owners allow the appliance to evaluate its contents and purchase replacements. Cyber crimes like these are a rarity; voice-con trolled appliances are targeted more often in security breaches. In addition to direct com mands, these systems typically register all loud noises that they detect in a home and transmitted through the internet.

The 'hits' this year included the hacking of a baby monitor and a toilet. The parents of a 3-year old in San Francisco found out that the hacker was scaring the child at night by talking to him through the device. And a programmable toilet was pulled out of action by a group of hackers that gained access to all of its features. They were able to flush the toilet on command, frightening those using it.

Experts predict that we will soon spend the same amount of money protecting our gadgets as we do on their purchase.

The massive theft of Yahoo user data disclosed last week came from "professional" hackers seeking to profit from the breach, according to an analysis by security researchers. The analysis published Wednesday by the security firm InfoArmor, which claims to have seen some of the data, contrasts with Yahoo's claim that the attack was likely "state-sponsored," but did suggest that stolen data was sold to a state-sponsored group at one point. "Yahoo was compromised in 2014 by a group of professional blackhats (hackers) who were hired to compromise customer databases from a variety of different targeted organizations," the report said. The hackers sold the data to "a state-sponsored party who had interest in exclusive database acquisition" and also to "cybercriminals who planned to use the data for spam campaigns against global targets." The hack occurred in late 2014 affecting some 500 million users worldwide, according to Yahoo's disclosure last week.

To start with, create long random passwords to avoid your email account being hacked

With Yahoo announcing a massive data breach last week where 500 million of its user accounts were compromised in 2014, experts feel that the trick to avoid email account hacking is to use really long random string for a password. "The password length should be at least 20 characters, but preferably 32," said lead researcher Jarno Niemela from the European cyber security provider F­Secure. 

Criminals who attempt to hack the password databases use various forms of attacks based on words found in the dictionary. 

This method usually works quite well because so many users pick terrible passwords.

"Humans in general are really bad password generators. No matter how unique you think your password is, its components are still likely to be in some dictionary, and a powerful cracking cluster will come up with the exactly right combination," Niemela said in a statement.

But there are a few catches for this tip and two of them depend on the security practices of the service one is using. First, the site or app has to accept long passwords and then the developers behind the software have to use any kind of "hashing" for the passwords they store.
Hashing employs an algorithm to hide passwords so they are not stored in clear text. "So, you, as a customer, cannot affect what kind of password storage the service providers are using," he says, adding, "But you can still frustrate all but the most advanced attacker's efforts by using long enough random passwords."

So now you may be thinking: "Great! I have uncrackable passwords. They are also impossible to memorise."  (Join the club darlings.) 

Add your own hackproof tips in the comments section here.