Social media can be used by hackers as a gateway to penetrate a company’s own IT system via social networks. This is made possible by overly bland or half-hearted security measures.
12% of the 200 IT professionals and 1,000 employees in England surveyed by ESET reported that their network had already been infected with viruses via the social web. And although 56% said their company had taken measures to regulate use of social media, they also admitted that implementation is never controlled. About a quarter of respondents say they already know someone whose Facebook identity was stolen in order to smuggle malware and exploits past the corporate firewall. The biggest scam on Facebook is currently the so-called ‘likejacking’. Using hidden buttons, users are tricked into giving a like without noticing it – thereby helping spread hoaxes and spam. (Source: ESET/bs)