Where’s the Party? Hackers Found in Social Networking Sites
Engage with a social networking site such as MySpace or Facebook, and you will undoubtedly change the way you spend your time online. Every time you visit and interact, you will leave a trace behind. You will expand your digital footprint. As you do this, you will acquire an online identity.Your digital profile will be born.
However unassuming or grand your digital profile is, however private or public, you can be certain of one thing:Â Your nuggets of information can be turned against you by hackers with malicious motives.
The tables have turned. 2006 was the year that cyber criminals shifted their attention from e-mail to web traffic. In that year, the ScanSafe Annual Global Threat Report noted an increase in spyware of 254 percent. The motives shifted as well. Over 65 percent of web virus attacks in 2006 aimed at gaining a financial benefit from unsuspecting users. Displaying technical prowess or causing online chaos was no longer the main driving factor for attacks.
It is little wonder that social networking sites, with attention grabbing headlines that by turns praise and condemn the social changes they are helping bring about, are gaining the attention of hackers looking to spread their malware.
The so-called Web 2.0 provides a grand platform from which to launch attacks. Social network sites, wikis, blogs, chat, RSS feeds, and instant messaging are, by their open nature, fertile ground for the distribution of malware. The more freely users interact and contribute content, the more information hackers have that can be used against them.
To limit your exposure and avoid being a target, it is wise to refrain from posting information that could make you vulnerable. This includes what others may be posting on you as well, for example, hobbies, addresses, memberships, routines, schedules, finances, employment – the possibilities are extensive. Only post information that you feel comfortable with anyone seeing since once you do so, you will not be able to fully retract it. Even if you remove it from a site, saved or cached versions may still exist elsewhere in the digital universe.
Just as it is important to be critical about what you post, it is also important to be critical about what you consume. Since much of Web 2.0 content is updatable by the public, it is possible for a hacker to embed links that send users to corrupt sites where they can be tricked into other scams. By blending with the crowd of users, hackers and cyber criminals can work underground.
Just how widespread is malware in the open Web? The ScanSafe Threat Center has found that up to one in every 600 social networking pages hosts malware. As the number of pages continues to rise exponentially, so does the potential for malware to spread.
Dan Nadir of ScanSafe told E-Commerce Times in a recent article that many traditional security solutions are not sufficiently capable in the dynamic Web 2.0 environment. What is required is a proactive solution, a type of real-time Web URL check.
Web pages that appear to be legitimate, can introduce malware and spyware into a network. The challenge is to tell the legitimate from the corrupt, and it’s not always easy. Often there’s no way to know one from another. According to Paul Henry of Secure Computing, in some cases hackers are corrupting legitimate technologies for their own gain. For example, even HTTPS connections, which are meant to be encrypted and secure, can be used by hackers to transmit malware.
Social networking sites pose special challenges for corporations seeking to protect sensitive data and intellectual property. According to the Reuters news agency, a July poll commissioned by Britain’s Evening Standard newspaper showed that more than two-thirds of London businesses have banned or limited employee access to Facebook and MySpace. The clamp down comes as the sites have begun catering to professionals. But while some believe that the sites are distracting and don’t belong in a work environment, others see them as powerful networking tools that can help the business.
Whichever side you favor, be aware that online social networking is a powerful tool and, should you choose to join, be sure to stay safe by checking a site’s privacy policy and letting common sense dictate how you participate.
Written by bardissi on October 4th, 2007 with no comments.
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