Last week, I wrote in Nothing to Hide that although the “I Have Nothing to Hide” folks believe they are too unimportant to be targeted by governments and hackers, that is almost certainly wrong. Serendipitously, the current issue the SANS security awareness newsletter, Ouch!, addresses this very point.
In Yes, You Are a Target they discuss why everyone’s information has value to hackers and—to a surprisingly large degree—governments, your own or others. If you’re living under the rosy assumption that no one would bother hacking you, you really need to read this post.
The article also mentions a few ways that you can protect yourself. Mostly, their advice boils down to not being stupid and doing things like clicking on links you get in an email. Regardless, the article is very worthwhile and you should definitely read it. It’s short so it won’t take more than a couple of minutes.