Social Media and Privacy: Empowering Users to Take Control

Social media has become an integral way for people to connect and share their experiences, photos, and videos with others. However, the widespread use of social media has created new avenues for scammers and cybercriminals to carry out reconnaissance necessary for social engineering or phishing attacks, making it imperative for users to take proactive measures to protect their privacy and online security.

The Privacy Paradox and the Rise of Malware

Social media platforms are a free service that is not actually free. By signing up users agree to the Terms and Conditions of that platform. In that long text of legalese you are agreeing to allow the company to collect, store, and sell your data to third-parties. This means that your digital footprint is shared with way more people than you think. This endangers your personal information if any of those third-party companies, or the social media company themselves, are breached by cybercriminals.

Recent attacks like the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal and the 2020 Twitter hack, highlight the need for online privacy and security. Users should be mindful of what they post online and to be more aware of the need to protect their personal data. While social media offers a convenient way to share our lives with others, the desire for connection often overshadows the potential risks. This paradox has made it easier for cybercriminals to exploit users’ trust, spread misinformation, and distribute malware.

What Does a Social Media Threat Look Like?

Attackers silently collect public data on social media platforms like a user’s posts, comments, likes, and more for nefarious purposes. Personal information helps an attacker gain the target’s trust in a social engineering attack, or can use it to guess answers to security questions during an account takeover, or move parallelly within a network disguised as the user to gain admin privileges during a privilege escalation attack.

Here are some social media threats to watch out for:

Social Engineering:

Attackers can use this technique to pose as high-level executives of a reputed organization and trick employees into sending them private data, information regarding credentials, or wiring them money.

One such example of a major social engineering attack is the American Hospital Association (AHA) IT breach in January 2024, which compromised personally identifiable information (PII) as well as diverted payments to the attacker’s overseas accounts.

Phishing:

An attacker may use information collected from social media to spoof the sender of an email and trick them into clicking links or sharing private data with them.

This security threat extends beyond social media users and usually incorporates engaging social content to manipulate individuals into divulging sensitive information. Similar tactics are employed through text messages (Smishing), phone calls (Vishing), and emails. Research suggests that 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent out daily worldwide, making it vital for individuals to be aware of these attacks.

An example of “phishing” for information can be seen on social media platforms with posts prompting users to generate pseudonyms by combining personal information, such as childhood street names and pet names. While these posts often generate numerous humorous responses and appear otherwise harmless, they pose significant security risks. These seemingly innocuous questionnaires, prevalent on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, can inadvertently reveal information commonly used in passwords or security questions. Cybercriminals can exploit the comment sections of these posts to gather potential password components.

Another kind of phishing attack on the rise with social media is the honey-trap or romance scam method. Attackers pose as a potential love interest hoping you will fall in love with them, share your personal information, or send them money. Even though we are more connected than ever, people are lonely and an estimated 56,796 people fell victim to romance scams in 2023.

Brand Impersonation:

Brand impersonation or brandjacking attacks put some industries at more risk than others, with finance and cryptocurrency, SaaS, webmail, retail, and e-commerce, being the primary targets A cybercriminal can create social media accounts to resemble existing businesses, hack legitimate company accounts, or rebrand a hacked account to trick users into divulging personal information, sending money, or downloading malicious software through posts and direct messages. Always check accounts to see how long they have been active by checking their oldest post, look for misspellings in the username or content, and if it seems suspicious always report and block the account.

Cybersecurity Best Practices: Protecting Yourself and Your Company in the Age of Social Media

An individual must choose to practice safe social media use, whether you are working from home or at a workplace. You must keep in mind that your device is an extension of your company’s attack surface.

If you are working from home and using your home device for work, please ensure that you enable multi-factor authentication (2FA/MFA) for all your email addresses and request your company to install good malware protection software on your device. A lack of security measures may backfire on the company if your home device is breached in an attack.

As a responsible employee, it is important to know that oversharing personal or business information on social media can be a huge risk to your privacy and also to your company’s sensitive data. Although your company cannot stop you from being on social media, it is best to avoid accepting random networking requests, choose not to use public WiFi hotspots, use ad blockers on your browser to avoid clicking on suspicious pop-ups by mistake, choose to keep separate passwords for work and personal accounts and be extra cautious of messages from unknown sources trying to induce fear, urgency or stress.

Your company should take a comprehensive approach to empower you in maintaining cybersecurity. This includes providing regular, in-depth training on detecting and preventing social engineering and phishing attacks and establishing clear policies regarding the use of social media handles from company devices. Additionally, your employer should implement robust technical safeguards such as remote wiping capabilities on company-provided mobile devices, ad blockers for work devices, browser isolation to contain web activity, and tools to detect and quarantine suspicious emails and links. IT teams should also invest in endpoint protection platforms (EPP), such as Securin’s Attack Surface Management platform, to detect, investigate, remediate and prevent dynamic security threats and other malicious activities. These measures, all together, create a strong foundation for organizational security.

While your company provides these necessary tools and training, it’s crucial to remember that your active participation in maintaining cybersecurity is vital. By staying abreast of the latest security trends and threats, and diligently following best practices, you play a critical role in safeguarding both yourself and your organization against the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats. Your vigilance and adherence to security protocols are indispensable components of a robust cybersecurity strategy.

Keep Yourself Secure from Potential Cyber Incidents

In today’s world, even low-skilled hackers can scan public-facing devices and exploit weak entry points to steal data, disrupt critical services, or hold data for ransom. Furthermore, sophisticated hackers and threat groups can spy on government assets and sell sensitive data to the highest bidder, wreaking havoc on society.

It is, therefore, essential for company security teams and individuals alike, to have a comprehensive view of their attack surface to prevent such attacks. The problem of lack of visibility is multifaceted and intricate, making it challenging to fix. This is because of the dynamic and constantly evolving nature of the attack surface, which requires continual observation and monitoring. Without the right level of visibility, governmental entities and unsuspecting organizations become prime targets for cyberattacks.

The Securin Attack Surface Management (ASM) solution is a powerful tool for organizations seeking to enhance their cybersecurity posture. By providing a comprehensive view of the attack surface from a hacker’s perspective, Securin ASM enables customers to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities and exposures that could attract attackers and put their enterprise at risk. Securin ASM provides a window of visibility by identifying unknown assets, prioritizing high-risk exposures, and offering continuous mitigation to enhance your security posture.

Take action and leverage Securin’s ASM platform for a comprehensive understanding of your organization’s vulnerabilities. Get a demo today!