A young cybersecurity expert has pulled back the curtain on the alarming digital threats facing everyone from billionaires to the average person, revealing the common errors that leave people dangerously exposed online.
High-Stakes Cyber Attacks on the Powerful
Kevin Leyes, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Argentina, is the founder of security firms LeyesX and Babys. He told the Daily Mail that his companies are tasked with protecting billionaire CEOs, world leaders, and 'tech bros', some of whom have come perilously close to financial ruin.
He recounted one severe incident involving a well-known public figure. 'One case involved a well-known public figure whose phone was cloned during a SIM-swap attack,' Leyes explained. 'The attackers gained access to email, bank accounts, and digital wallets.'
His team's swift action was critical. 'We detected the breach early, coordinated with the telecom carrier, locked the wallet APIs, and contained the breach in under six hours.' Without this intervention, Leyes confirmed, 'the loss would have exceeded seven figures.'
Extortion, Hacking, and Everyday Scams
Leyes also detailed a 'celebrity' client who faced a revenge-porn extortion attempt. His firm 'traced the source to a cloud-stored folder' and 'executed multiple legal removals through our network of contacts, and ensured the files were destroyed.'
In another case, an adult content creator was hacked overnight. The culprit changed her email, phone number, and recovery information 'in minutes', putting $120,000 in monthly recurring subscriptions and her dedicated fan base at risk. The breach started with 'a simple phishing link disguised as a verification request.' Thankfully, the account was recovered within 24 hours.
Beyond sophisticated hacks, Leyes highlighted more common cons. 'I've seen other scams where fans spend thousands on used underwear that they think is from the model they're following,' he said, 'or men who drop $10,000 on a single private video call with a con artist that lasts just a few minutes.'
Why Everyone is at Risk and How to Protect Yourself
Leyes warned that while the wealthy are prime targets, 'nothing is stopping the average Joe from falling victim, too.' He stressed that most people are unaware of their exposure. 'They think their data is hidden on the dark web, when in reality it's sitting on public broker databases anyone can buy for a few dollars. Your address, phone number, and even your children's school information are already out there.'
He listed the most frequent mistakes:
- Reusing passwords across multiple sites.
- Storing sensitive information in email drafts.
- Connecting personal and business devices.
- Ignoring privacy settings on apps and social media.
'The deeper mistakes are psychological,' he added, 'oversharing online, using public Wi-Fi for transactions, trusting fake 'verification' links, and assuming privacy equals safety.'
His motivation stems from personal experience. Four years ago, he lost $45,000 to two separate scams—a $5,000 NFT scam and a $40,000 Forex bot scheme. 'That experience flipped a switch for me,' he recalled. 'I figured that if I was smart enough to understand these schemes, I was smart enough to build solutions against them.' This realisation led him to found LeyesX in 2021.
Leyes concludes that awareness is the first step, but proactive prevention is the only path to true digital safety.
