Common social media attacks and how to avoid them
There is no doubt that social networks are very important platforms in our day today. It is a means of communication widely used by both private users and companies. They are very varied since we can find options to share content and opinions, upload images or videos, send messages ... But they all have a common link: interact with other users. Now, the fact that something is widely used also invites hackers to carry out different methods to damage security and privacy.
Main attacks on social networks
As we say, social networks are widely used platforms on
the Internet. There are many options that we have
available. Cybercriminals often set their sights on what has the most
users—a way to find a way to achieve your goals and have a greater chance of
success.
There are many attacks that we will acquire
we hook up with the Internet when the use of offerings and structures. However,
in this newsletter, we are going to consciousness on the primary attacks which
can seem on social networks. We confer with strategies and techniques that
hackers can use to put our safety and privacy at threat.
Phishing by social networks
One of the most frequent attacks on
the Internet and which of course also affects social networks is Phishing. As we know, these are messages sent
by cybercriminals with the aim of impersonating a legitimate organization.
They usually throw a hook where they encourage us to log in,
click on a link or download a file. They may even tell us that there is a
problem with our account and that it needs to be fixed.
Fake profiles or bots
Of course, one of the most common
problems is fake profiles or bots. They
basically pose as real people to gain the trust of the victim. They may
simply be looking to add contacts to collect personal data, send event
invitations, and more.
That is why we must always make sure which profile we are adding
to our account. It may not really be a legitimate user or a real
company; you may simply seek to collect data, know our tastes, see what
contacts we have added ...
Fake offers or prizes
A classic. Surely on occasion, we have
seen a message on social networks where they tell us that we have won a prize
for something and that we have a specific product at our disposal.
It can also happen that this bait is an unrepeatable offer, some
very cheap item with a great discount. Generally, all they want is to get
our attention so that we click on a link and enter a malicious page controlled
by the attackers.
Fake news
This is another of the current
problems of the Internet. The Fake
News or false news is not just that, items showing
incorrect and unrealistic information. This type of news can also be used
as a hook for the victim to reach a malicious site where they can download
malware or compromise their privacy in some way.
We leave you an article where we
explain how to recognize fake news.
Brute force attacks
Passwords are the main barrier to protection when we create
accounts on the Internet. This means that they will also be targeted by
cybercriminals, and social media is no exception.
Many hackers can use a classic
technique such as brute force attacks. Basically,
it consists of trying one after another combination of keys to access an
account.
Identity fraud
This attack puts our privacy at
risk. They can impersonate our real name and create a profile as if it were us. It is
an important problem and one that is very present in the network. Through
these accounts that they create as if we were us, they could attack our
contacts. After all, if a person receives a message with a link from a
friend or family member, they are more likely to open it.
Therefore, identity theft through services such as Facebook or
Twitter is very dangerous, and we must avoid it at all costs. It is
essential not only to maintain privacy but also to avoid problems such as what
we mentioned that they could send malware on our behalf or carry out an attack.
How to avoid these attacks
Luckily we can make use of different tools, as well as take into
account some recommendations to avoid being victims of these attacks. The
goal is to be able to network in complete safety. We are going to give
some essential tips to avoid attacks through social networks such as Facebook,
Instagram, or Twitter, to name some of the most popular.
Keep equipment up-to-date
Of course, something fundamental is
also the fact of having the systems updated. We must apply all kinds
of patches that
we have at our disposal to correct problems.
Sometimes vulnerabilities get up, which might be exploited with
the aid of hackers and allow access to our accounts, such as social
networks. By installing the corresponding updates, we can avoid
it. You always have to have all the devices with the news that is
available. It does not matter what operating system we use or what program
we have installed.
Encrypt our accounts correctly
Using reliable passwords is a very important
barrier to protect our social networks. A good password should have
letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and other special symbols. All
this must be random, and the key must be unique.
As an additional option, we have to add two-step
authentication. In this way, if they find out our password, they will not
be able to enter the account because they would need that second step, which
can be, for example, a code that we receive by SMS.
Common sense
Last but perhaps most importantly, common sense is essential to
protect our social networks. We have seen that cybercriminals take
advantage of mistakes we make on many occasions. For example, we are
opening a malicious link or accessing our account through a third-party link.
Many types of attacks will require the interaction of the
victim. Not only open a link or download a file but also that, for
example, we write our e-mail or account of a social network in an open forum,
and it can be collected by an attacker. These errors are what we must
avoid and thus improve our security on the Internet.
Therefore, by following these steps that we have mentioned, we
can keep our social networks protected and avoid something as serious as
identity theft. We protect ourselves, but also third parties who may be
harmed because they have created a profile as if it were us. It is
something that we must take care of at all times.