According to research by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, only a small number of users understand the risks associated with active use of social networks. In fact, those who use mobile devices to visit social media are at greater risk.
The research shows that communicating via social networks is one of the most popular activities on the Internet. Overall, social networking was the third most popular activity after accessing and reading email. It is even more popular when it comes to mobile devices, as it ranks second.
At the same time, 78% of respondents said they do not believe hackers care about them or that they are not concerned about this issue at all. One in ten users shares private information with strangers, while 15% of respondents use social networks to exchange information that they would never reveal in real life. In addition, 12% of respondents enter data into online accounts while connected to public Wi-Fi. Only 18% believe that they reveal more personal information than they should on social networks. Also, only 7% of respondents said that social media passwords are among the three types of information they are afraid of losing.
Careless behavior of users can lead to unpleasant consequences. Attackers often search social networks for information that users have left unknowingly. This information can contribute to a crime. Among other things, email addresses can be used for fraud, while some information can help criminals “crack” passwords or determine a user’s location. In addition, if digital fraudsters gain access to user accounts, they have even more opportunities at their disposal, such as sending malicious links and files to the victim’s “friends”, intercepting personal data that will later be sold on the black market, etc.
Statistics show that hackers' interest in social networks is unabated. According to Kaspersky Security Network data for 2013, Kaspersky Lab products prevented more than 600 million attempts to visit phishing websites . It is noted that over 35% of these pages imitated social networking sites. The survey also shows that 40% of users encountered suspicious messages asking them to follow an unknown link or "download" a potentially malicious file. At the same time, 21% of users received an email claiming to come from a social network, in an attempt to steal the user's account details.
Moreover, mobile device users often put themselves at even greater risk. Only 6% of respondents said that hackers had “invaded” their social media accounts, while the corresponding percentage among Android tablet owners was 13%. Moreover, the number of victims varies not only depending on the device used, but also based on the place of residence of the users. For example, 16% of users in China and the Asia-Pacific region reported that they had been the victim of unauthorized access to social media accounts. The corresponding percentage in Russia reached 19%, while the figures were significantly lower in Japan (2%) and North America (4%).
To protect themselves against scams on social networks, users can follow a few simple rules:
- Using strong passwords and disabling autofill, especially if you log in to your account via your smartphone or tablet.
- Limiting the information shared on the network. It is suggested that users separate their “friends” into groups, so that they only share something very personal with those they truly trust.
- In general, users should not "download" files or "follow" links if they are not sure who sent them and why.
- Before entering login details, users should make sure they have not visited a fake page intended to trick them.
- It is recommended to use secure network connections and avoid entering access details when using a hotspot.
In any case, users should be sure that the device they use to visit a social network is well protected. This is why it is recommended to use a password on the device and a reliable security solution.
For example, the new version of the Kaspersky Internet Security – Multi-Device, recently introduced by Kaspersky Lab, can protect multiple devices, whether they are computers running Microsoft Windows or Apple OS X, or smartphones and tablets running Android, iOS or Windows Phone. Its anti-phishing function, which covers all of the above platforms, checks the sites the user visits and verifies the authenticity of their certificates, offering protection against fraudsters. In addition, owners of Windows, Android and OS X devices are protected from possible attempts to intercept their login details through malware such as keyloggers or Trojans that “create” additional fake fields on legitimate websites. Finally, Kaspersky Internet Security has functions to control Wi-Fi connections, warning users if the connection is not sufficiently protected and could be used to intercept personal data.
