LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Social media continues to be a great boon for hackers.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms make gaining access to personal and business information that people share rather easy.

“People post photos with that information in it because they don’t realize it’s in there and that it can be used in all kinds of nefarious ways,” said Dave Hatter, a cybersecurity consultant with Intrust IT.

Hatter said that many people are unaware or ignore the danger of inadvertently leaking sensitive personal information when they post on social media. This is especially true when it comes to images that may capture sensitive information when taken and typically contain metadata that is not obvious to the naked eye. The metadata is known as EXIF data and most modern smartphones capture it when a photo is taken.

“The data that will get captured would include the device that took the photo, the date and time the picture was taken, and the geolocation,” said Hatter.

In Windows, all you have to do is right-click a picture file, select “Properties,” and then click the “Details” tab in the properties window. Look for the Latitude and Longitude coordinates under GPS. Hackers that use this data are more like analysts or stalkers than typical cybercriminals and in many instances, no laws are broken when this information is accessed.

“You have to think about what you are posting whether it is a text or a photo,” said Hatter. “You have to be aware there are bad guys out there who will use this information against you whether to try to hack into your accounts, break into your house, or do God knows what.”

Things you can do include:

• Reduce your use of social media
• Understand the risks and that photos may contain metadata
• Think carefully about the information you are sharing and how it might be used
• Understand that once something is posted online it’s essentially forever