Odds of Your Social Network Being Hacked
Every social network is a target for hackers trying to gain access to the personal data you have uploaded to the site, or the opportunity to masquerade themselves as a friend of people using the service. The probability that your social networking platform will have security issues approach 100 percent, regardless of whether that's Facebook, Twitter or another social network. The odds that your personal network of friends will be hacked is another matter entirely, but it is best to act as if this is also inevitable.
Other People Are Reading
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Account Access
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An Associated Press-MTV poll conducted in August 2011 found 3 in 10 teens and young adults have had people log on to their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other Internet accounts, and impersonate or spy on them. That’s nearly double the level in 2009. The poll conducted 1,355 interviews -- 631 teens ages 14-17 and 724 young adults ages 18-24. For a malefactor looking to profit or commit mischief on the Internet, access to your social networking account provides many opportunities to scam your friends or embarrass you. Just gaining access to the personal data you have uploaded to your own account may provide enough detail to attempt identity theft in other venues. Protect your account by using strong passwords that you change frequently, and that cannot be easily guessed by people who know you. Do not use "stay logged in" features when using a shared computer, or if you share your own computer with other people. Pay attention when your social network sends you alerts about your security, but never click on a link in those emails to follow through; the email itself may be a scam, so log into your social network separately after receiving an alert.
Friends' Account Access
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No matter how well you protect your own account, it's axiomatic that sooner or later, your friends will have their own accounts hacked. The larger your social network, the sooner this will occur -- and smart people can have their accounts hacked as easily as, say, less-smart people. Use common sense when you receive messages from your friends. It's not likely that your third-grade teacher really wants you to know how she made $1,200 working from home online, or that your English major friend from college is stranded and needs money, and told you this in a poorly worded and ungrammatical email. When a message or a contact seems out of the ordinary, follow up offline first to make sure you're not falling into a trap set by hackers.
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Systemic Attack
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Social networks are also vulnerable to general attacks against their entire infrastructure. It does not matter how well you guard your individual password if your social network allows their internal computers to be successfully attacked. Limit the damage that can be done by limiting the amount of personal information you post to your social network; for example, never send a credit card number to a friend over Facebook, even if you're happy to let him borrow your account for a purchase. Aside from the risks mentioned about knowing whether your friend is really who he says he is, there is no way of knowing how long that information will be stored on a server that may be vulnerable to attack.
Security Settings
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Use all of the security preferences offered by your preferred social networking service to protect against outside attack. At the very least, be certain that all of your personal information remains personal; if a picture of your house happens to contain an address number and street sign, post that in an area where only confirmed friends can see it. Better yet, pick a less revealing picture and don't post it at all. Information you don't share is information that cannot be used against you. Ask yourself why you should share something first, and remove any information that doesn't benefit you by sharing it.
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