Top 10: Social Media Security Issues 2013

Social Media Security Issues in 2013

Privacy and security issues are commonplace on the internet today, but social media sites appear to be attracting these issues more and more.  Just this week, Twitter introduced a new security feature called login verification, a form of two-factor authentication to help better protect user accounts.  With recent hacks of the Associated Press, Burger King, Jeep, and even Donald Trump’s Twitter accounts, it’s easy to see why such security features are necessary.  In light of this, I’d like to share an article posted on socialmediarevolver.com called “Top 10 Security Problems With Social Media in 2013” by Jessica Carol. Let’s take a look at the top 10 social media security problems that will have to be dealt with in 2013:

1. Password Management. An obvious problem, yet numerous people still lose their social media accounts to hackers that manage to crack their passwords. Just last year, 6.46 million LinkedIn passwords were leaked after a hack.

2. Age Limits. Age is no longer a deterrent to owning a social media account. Although Facebook’s terms of service claim that users must be at least 13 to have an account, there are ways to get around that. Jessica says “this means that not all users are responsible adults and can be a threat to security.” I don’t agree with this point, as the only security issue I see with age leads back to password management.

3. Social Engineering. As all of our information, including work related is posted on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, people can tap into these resources to attempt to get their hands on company or business related secrets. Read more about social engineering here.

4. BYOD. By bringing your own device to work to access social media, you are potentially setting yourself up for security problems. These may be due to your employers or co-workers who can attempt to use social media to harass or spy on you.

5. Complex Malware. The concept of precision targeted malware should make any social media user uncomfortable. Social networks are not immune to these types of attacks, and can face potential harm if security is not up to par.

6. Privacy Laws. At the moment, social media users do not have any privacy laws in place to guarantee safety from prying eyes; including those of government agencies. This issue will need to be dealt with sooner or later.

7. MalApps. Not all social media apps are truly certified, and there are people out there who design malapps in attempt to break into your account and steal important details.

8. Phishing Scams. Over 50% of internet users get at least one phishing email per day. Many people unknowingly divulge important information such as credit card details, usernames, and email passwords through these scams.

9. Social Media Privacy Settings. With constantly changing privacy policies, many social media users get left behind on the memos and security related confusion arises. Another point I don’t agree with. As a social media user you have close to no privacy so don’t be fooled by the appeared settings or ever-changing privacy policies.

10. Encryption. Major social media sites such as Google+ and Twitter have enabled encrypted browsing by default, other social networks have left the option for manual adjustments.

Jaclyn Bickerton, Social Media, Raven5, Oakville & Toronto Ontario, May 2013

---

View All