Social networks attractive to hackers, claim experts

Posted by Steven Gaskill

Cybercriminals are making greater use of popular social networks, IT security users have been warned.

Recent research from M86 Security found that there has been a significant rise in the number of hacking attacks launched through social media platforms such as Twitter.

The study claimed that hackers prefer this approach, as it exploits users' trust of social networking websites and obscure malicious links are easier to disguise because of the shortened URLs the platforms use.

Commenting on the findings, Trend Micro senior security advisor Rik Ferguson pointed out that the large numbers of people who have accounts with websites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook make them attractive to cybercriminals, as each person is a potential victim.

He also explained that hackers know that if their scam works on one person, they have a greater chance of being able to attack the users linked to them on the network.

"Social networks are based on trust - you believe that you know the person you're interacting with and so, if somebody within your circle of trust admits someone who shouldn't be there, that whole circle is broken for everyone," the expert noted.