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Nowadays, almost everyone can be found on one or more social media platforms and runs one or more profiles, some of them for personal and others for professional purposes. Some use them to network, share photos of special events or stay in touch with their friends. Others use them to promote their company, association or organization. Although social networks offer numerous benefits and have become an integral part of our everyday lives, they also pose a number of risks, particularly in terms of IT security. In this post, we would like to highlight the various aspects of the impact of social media on IT security and provide an insight into how these challenges can be overcome.
Spreading Malware Through Social Media
Social networks are also very popular amongst cyber criminals, as they can use them to spread malware without being bothered. And with great success. In one very popular scenario, for example, users receive a message from a seemingly trustworthy friend on a social media platform. The message contains a link to a supposedly interesting video or website. As the message comes from a friend, the user unsuspectingly clicks on the link.
What is not immediately apparent, however, is the fact that the account from which the message originates has been hacked and the link leads to an infected website. As soon as the website is accessed, malware is automatically downloaded onto the device. This malware can then be used by cyber criminals to steal sensitive data or carry out other malicious actions. If you receive a message that seems strange, you might want to check with the person in question via another communication channel to see if the message is actually from them. In general, you should always be skeptical of links. It is also essential to use security software to detect and ward off potential threats at an early stage.
Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks
Social engineering and phishing attacks consist in cyber criminals using personal information to gain the trust of their victims and manipulate them. Many users voluntarily disclose large amounts of personal data on their social media profiles, e.g. photos, interests, friend lists and information about their daily routines. Social media is therefore particularly fertile ground for internet fraudsters. They can analyze all this information at their leisure to tailor the best scam to their victim.
One of the best-known and most perfidious methods, for example, is to duplicate entire social media profiles, including photos and friend lists. Messages are then sent from this new profile to all of the victim’s contacts. The hackers then claim that their old profile has been hacked and ask them to add their new account. Once this is done, the scammers exploit the trust of the contacts to demand sensitive information or even money.
Social media makes it easier for attackers to carry out such attacks, as many people publicly disclose large amounts of personal data that can be used for such manipulative tactics. These attacks are often successful because they target the victims’ trust and willingness to help. It is therefore extremely important to carefully review your privacy settings and be mindful of what information you make publicly available.
Challenges for Corporate Security
Social networks are popular platforms for sharing information. Under certain circumstances, company information can also be disclosed – whether intentionally or unintentionally. For example, employees could share details about projects, internal processes or even security-related information that could be misused by third parties. Such information can potentially be used to compromise employee accounts. Once an employee account has been compromised, it is a potential gateway for attacks on the entire company infrastructure.
In this regard as well, regular awareness programs and training in everyday working life are necessary to prepare employees for these threats and establish a strong security culture in the company.
In conclusion, it should be said that social media offer a whole range of benefits, but also entail significant risks. In order to minimize these risks, conscious and informed behavior is particularly important. Users should regularly check their privacy settings and always be aware of how much personal information they actually want to disclose before publishing anything. It is also a great advantage to stay informed about the latest attack methods, as cyber criminals are constantly developing new scams. This will effectively limit the potential damage caused by cyber attacks and data misuse.
You are interested in this topic and want to find out more about how you can protect yourself online? You can find all our articles on this topic under the IT security tag.
Responsible for the content of this article is Stéphanie Bauens.
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