Dangers of Social Media Networking Part 3

Linked Out. When one door closes another opens. This tried and true adage has never rung more true than with social networking. Attackers frustrated by their inability to enter corporate networks because of sophisticated controls, now have a whole new point of entry with LinkedIn, which allows them to access personal professional information and spoof employee profiles.

Plus, it's no secret that attackers follow the money. This networking site aimed at professionals also opens up a whole new attack vector for organized crime intending to pilfer intellectual property and corporate information, as well as the typical credit cards and social security numbers used in identity theft.

All About The Money. Reflecting current cyber crime trends, experts say that attacks on social networking sites will increasingly become more financially driven.And will wreak havoc on users' bank accounts as these attacks become more complex and organized. This also means that sites like Facebook -- which touts a more professional, white-collar user base, as well as professional networking sites like LinkedIn, will increasingly become targets for organized crime.

Having all of your information on a site that isn't controlled by users and whose security practices aren't paramount, isn't always the best deal. While experts say that they can't predict the future, it's likely that social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook will start taking more responsibility regarding their security practices -- especially if users significantly change their behavior or avoid logging on altogether.
Special thanks to : Channel Web, http://www.crn.com

Author Chris Kaminski is head web designer at Lone Bird Studio, an Asheville web design and SEO company located in North Carolina.

Dangers of Social Media Networking Part 2

Last week I started this series to introduce you to the dangers of social networking. I was not ready for the response. Yes I know we all use them and yes I know they are necessary for business, just be aware of the dangers. Use these services but think before you type and use them safely. So, now let’s continue.

It's A Worm. It's social networking at its finest.

Experts say social networking users can expect more threats to travel virally. Experts say that other rapid, self-replicating viruses will likely be more malicious, designed to steal or delete users' personal information like date of birth and passwords. That data can then be sold in numerous black market economies or used to acquire credit card and bank information. Often the same login credentials used on Facebook and MySpace are also used to access banking and other sensitive accounts.

'Poking' Holes in XXS Flaws.

In a recent attack, millions of Facebook users were left exposed to a cross site scripting vulnerability affecting the user interface of the site's Job page. Among other things, the vulnerability gave the attackers the ability to install malicious software as well as trick users into handing over their credentials through fake logins. The takeaway is that the same threats plaguing Web 2.0 are amplified on social networking sites. Why? Because these sites rely on the prolific and rapid spread of information between users.

Flash Attacks. It's the beauty of Web 2.0.

There are more attacks on Flash now than ever before. Applications such as Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight, which allow the browser to be used in a more effective way, also increase the attack surface.

Naturally, the prolific use of Flash is one of the evolutions that make Facebook and MySpace so lucrative to attackers. As anyone with a profile knows, these technologies are extremely pervasive, as well as fun, when doing social networking. Unfortunately, a recent exploit in Adobe Flash has become a huge security threat.

Experts say that so far hundreds of thousands of Websites have been compromised, including thousands of networking site pages, as the result of the Flash exploit loose in the wild.Next week, part three. Special thanks to Channel Web, http://www.crn.com.

Author Chris Kaminski is head web designer at Lone Bird Studio, an Asheville web design and SEO company located in North Carolina.

Dangers of Social Media Networking

Social media networking is very powerful and very effective, of that there is no doubt. But as I have showed you before, like everything else with the Internet, there are two sides to everything. Social networking is a curvy road and you need to beware of the blind spots. To that end, this is the first of a three part series to make you aware. And I would like to thank Channel Web, http://www.crn.com, who provided the original story.

MySpace. Facebook. LinkedIn. Orkut. Who doesn't have a profile on at least one of these sites these days? The explosion of social networking has reinvented communication as we know it, creating new opportunities to develop friendships, romances and business contacts all over the world -- a fact which has not gone unnoticed by the malware authors and organized crime.

Here's a look at some of the things experts say we can expect to see more of in the world of Web 2.0 social networking.

Spam, Spam and More Spam. Spammers that are getting the door slammed in their faces with e-mail spam filters now have found new ways to access users with social networking sites, especially in the workplace. Experts say that spam is more profitable than ever.

Third Party Threats. It’s no secret that as applications acquire more functionality, the more susceptible they are to security threats. As social networking sites encourage users to build add-ons for their network, users will be opening themselves up to exploits from vulnerabilities in third-party applications.

Surprise, You've Got Spyware. Perhaps nothing is more ironic than pesky banner ads claiming that your site is hosting every kind of virus known to man and then offering to clean it up -- for a small fee of course. As more social networking users increasingly fear malware on their computers, they become bigger targets for these kinds of pop-up adware, tricking them to download fake anti-virus cleaners which are benign at best and destructive at worst.
Next week in part two we cover Worms, Flash, Phishing, holes in XXS and more.

Author Chris Kaminski is head web designer at Lone Bird Studio, an Asheville web design and SEO company located in North Carolina.