Yes, it is possible to track the location of an external hard drive if it has a GPS device. Some manufacturers add this function to enable users to know where their device is and use the HDD in case of theft or loss. However, this function does expose the drive to hackers who may use this information to track the movements of users.
There are several hacking techniques employed to access or delete data on external hard drives, one of the main ones being phishing. Hackers send spam messages that appear as if they have been sent by a reputable company, like Microsoft or PayPal. Once the computer owner opens these emails and downloads the attachment, malware is installed on the computer automatically.
All information entered into the computer or laptop is sent to hackers from that moment. This includes personal files on an external hard drive connected with the same PC or laptop since they have access to everything you download and open. Some forms of malware can even track your location, so if a hacker chooses to do so, they will know where the user is at any given moment.
Another hacking technique used with external hard drives is spoofing. In this case, the hackers’ identity (email address) is different from what they use to gain the user’s trust and make the user download malware onto the system. However, there are also cases when the email address is real, but the sender wishes to access the files. If this happens, all personal data on the external hard drive are in danger of being hacked into.
Last but not least, there are cases when hackers use brute force techniques to hack into the system. This method involves trying various passwords until one of them works. And since most people use simple passwords that are easy to guess, this is one of the most common techniques for hacking that can be applied with external hard drives. When hackers have the passwords, they can access all personal information they need from the user’s system.