You might not know it, but every time you go on the Internet, from checking your social media to playing games and chatting with friends, you are identifiable to the rest of the world by a numeric address.
This “address” is your IP address, or Internet Protocol address. It’s a unique combination of numbers that identifies computers or devices from one another to allow them to communicate through the Internet. It might look like this:
173.223.120.165.
Your digital devices work much the same way as your physical address—your device needs an address in order to send information to another device. It seems harmless, but attackers can actually launch attacks against you (or in some cases disguised as you) if they know your IP address.
Now before we get too deep into this, keep in mind finding and utilizing a victim’s IP address in a cyberattack is really only a cog in the attack machine. Therefore, it’s important that all the information provided here represents the worst case scenario. However, knowledge of your personal vulnerabilities and how to secure them is important in every aspect of computer security.
