Online privacy is one of the most relevant and controversial issues brought about by the internet age.

Hackers invading our online accounts for information is a source of constant worry to many people, and for good reason!

Reyes Daniel Ruiz was an employee at Yahoo! until he was fired for breaking into "about 6,000" private accounts in search of sexual images of the owners.

Ruiz was charged with one count of "computer intrusion" and one count of "interception of a wire communication."

After receiving a deal, he plead guilty to the count of computer intrusion and now faces up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and "restitution to the victims."

Ruiz was released from his position after an FBI investigation noticed "suspicious activity" linking back to him.

Not only did the former software engineer break into Yahoo! accounts using his backend tools, he then took the passwords he was able to attain to log onto users' separate Gmail, iCloud, and Dropbox accounts (if people used the same password for each).

The materials Ruiz stole were kept on a home computer.

When he thought the FBI was closing in on him, he destroyed it.

Big tech companies and the access their employees have to their client's private information has been a topic of much heated discussion as of late.

Google, Apple, Android and Amazon all recently revised their standards and practices regarding employee-review of snippets recorded by home assistants like Alexa.

Previously, it was revealed employees occasionally listen in on Alexa owners to help improve the system's speech functions, but also that these employees would comment on and even make fun of what they heard.

We must all be very careful about what we post online.

Even when individuals like Ruiz aren't involved, giant hacks like the one that recently exposed all 3 billion Yahoo! accounts can strike at any moment.

Learn how to protect yourself with Cyber Security: Comprehensive Beginners Guide to Learn the Basics and Effective Methods of Cyber Security, available here.

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