Social Media.docx

Social media addiction has become a serious problem. This might be a statement that causes most people to roll their eyes. However, please rest assured that it is a real condition. Most people really have no idea how much they spend on social media throughout the day. Almost everyone is checking their social media accounts constantly, all day long. For those who have social media addictions, there is a very good reason for it. These sites are working hard to make their networks as active as possible. Their goal is to make them so interesting and engaging that people just can't resist them.

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There are more than 2 billion active social media users worldwide. This means that 28% of time spent on online is spent on social media. People between the ages of 15 and 19 spend at least 3 hours a day using various social media sites. People between the ages of 20 and 29 will spend at least two hours a day on social media. 18% of social media users can't go more than a couple of hours without checking Facebook. 28% of iPhone users will check Twitter before they even get out of bed. Worldwide, 39,757 years of time is spent on Facebook in a single day. 16% of people rely on social media for their morning news. Smartphone users have an average of 7.4 social media apps on their phones. People upload 5 million images every day on Instagram. More than 500 million tweets are sent out every day. The Google +1 button is pressed about 5 billion times every day. 2 new users sign up for LinkedIn every second of every day. People spend about 15 minutes every day on YouTube. The average person in the United States spends almost ¼ of their workday on social media. This is for non-work related activities.

Facebook Security Breach Exposes Accounts of 50 Million Users A Google bug exposed the information of up to 500,000 users

There are a lot of reasons why social media can be troublesome. For one, it’s simply not safe, regardless of your age or profession. Many people use the Internet’s anonymity to provide a considerable vector for attacking others. Some might just be trolling others and bothering them, but sometimes this can go too far. Children nowadays who find themselves on social media may be subject to all manner of harassment from their peers, and it’s all thanks to the Internet giving the perceived notion that nothing that they do on it has consequences. The other more business-minded side of social media attacks come in the form of phishing scams and other attacks on sensitive information. Hackers will stop at nothing to steal information of value from both individuals and companies. You might be surprised by how much value a hacker can get out of your personally identifiable information. Many users share sensitive information like their address, phone number, email, and much more, all often publicly on display on social media profiles.

Other times, hackers might take advantage of phishing tactics to weasel information out of users. They can be surprisingly crafty in these endeavors, going as far as impersonating people that you know. They might send personal messages in hopes that you’ll respond and give them the opportunity they need to steal your information. It’s clear that you need to be smart about what you post and when you post it, but what’s the best way to do so? For starters, it’s important to remember that everything you do on social media can likely be traced back to you. That status that you made about the workplace or an unsavory comment about a client could come back to bite you in the future. Be conscious about what you’re posting and ask yourself if it really needs to be out in the public domain. Chances are that it doesn’t. This will also keep you from sharing pictures of your meals, which is a bonus for pretty much all of your social media connections. Second, be careful of any information that you share with anyone over social media. If someone is messaging you out of the blue and asks you for something personal, perhaps you should think twice before telling them your bank account number or Social Security number. If there is ever any doubt about whether or not the one messaging you is genuine, a simple rule is to not give up anything of value to suspicious people on social media.

Living out loud' on social media Kim Kardashian's unfortunate robbery in Paris serves as a reminder of the dangers of 'living out loud', which made it easy for criminals to know her exact whereabouts by simply following her on social media. The incident has caused the Kardashian family to rethink how they use social media and what they share publicly. Likewise, we can use this as a wakeup call to guide our social media usage.

Third-party applications Social media platforms often allow for integration with third party applications (apps), for example, Candy Crush. In order to use these applications, you will need to grant them permission to your account, including: contacts, location and other personal information. Some of these apps request excessive permissions to your account. However you have a responsibility to review the type of access being requested by third party applications, before signing up. Malicious thirdparty applications can be used to access your personal information, which can then send direct messages to your contacts with scams, which appear to be coming from you. This can also compromise your reputation with your contacts. Friendly Online Strangers'

Your typical social media followers often include individuals who you invited in your circle because of common interests, shared friends followers and association. This social connection makes it easy for 'friendly strangers' to target individuals through what is known as targeted phishing attacks. Targeted phishing attacks typically rely on information gleaned from social websites and other sources to create a sense of familiarity and trust. Researchers have found that following verified financial institutions often times increases followers. However, some of your new followers may be 'scammers' seeking to prey on individuals presumed to be customers of financial institutions. These criminals will often follow up with messages trying to lure you into some type of fraudulent scheme or will try to solicit sensitive information to access bank accounts or credit card information. They may even mimic the way in which your financial institution communicates on social media to make themselves seem more authentic, with the hope that you will divulge sensitive information. Another common approach by cyber attackers is to create malicious content on social media platforms such as Facebook and target you directly, based on your interests, favourite pages, followers etc. This can be done by creating a fraudulent site of a company you follow or use for e-commerce, such as Amazon and Fashion Nova, then craft a communication to appear similar to one of these companies, offering you discounts on your favorite items and asking you to login to access the deals, in order to access your credentials and credit card information. Your account can then be used to make fraudulent purchases. Protecting yourself on social media Most of us will continue to use social media, even with the potential threats that exists, because it keeps us connected. We can however reduce our vulnerability with the following tips: • Post after leaving the location: When posting pictures or videos of your vacation, favourite restaurant, or just sharing randomly, do so after you leave the physical location. Also, be sure to disable your location services on your device to ensure your location is not shared, as a part of your posts. • Review the access of all third-party applications to your social media accounts. This will ensure your account is not used in an unintended manner without your knowledge and that you are aware of any potential risks. • Consider setting your account profiles to private: Additionally, carefully screen friends or follow requests from persons you know personally and limit clicking on sites from 'friendly strangers'. • Exercise caution when clicking on advertisements or direct messages offering deals that appear to be unrealistic. Several individuals and companies have been victims of cyber-attacks, made possible with the vulnerability presented through their usage of social media. So, as you keep social, be vigilant in protecting your personal information.

Orin Malcolm is the information security, risk and compliance manager within the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Group.

Then, in March, the leaks and breaches began. That month, WikiLeaks published documents detailing alleged CIA hacking tools. A month later, a group known as Shadow Brokers released hacking tools developed by the National Security Agency. The NSA’s tools were highly advanced, allowing attackers to gain control of desktops, laptops, and cell phones. Their release would set the stage for some of the the year’s biggest hacks. The first attack that relied on the Shadow Brokers-released tools was WannaCry, a ransomeware that encrypted the contents of a computer’s hard drive and demanded payment in Bitcoin to release them. The worm relied on an NSA hack known as EternalBlue, which used a vulnerability in the file sharing service on unpatched Windows machines. The WannaCry cyberattack cost the economy billions of dollars. Here's why that's scary. WannaCry first struck on May 12, and it eventually infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries. It brought down systems in the England’s and Scotland’s National Health Service, in Nissan and Renault automobile factories, at Spanish telecom Telefónica, and any many more. The U.S. government eventually fingered the North Korean hacking team known as the Lazarus Group, the same team thought to be responsible for the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. After WannaCry had run its course another cyberattack known as Petya struck in late June, this time seeming to target Ukrainian computers. Petya also relied on the EternalBlue exploit. Banks, nuclear power plants, trains, and airports were all affected. That same month, a security researcher discovered a massive trove of voter records sitting in an unsecured database hosted on Amazon’s S3 storage service. Deep Root Analytics, a data company hired by the Republican Party, had misconfigured the database that stored sensitive information on 198 million Americans. The information was exposed for two weeks, allowing anyone with knowledge of the server to download “names, dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers, and voter registration details, as well as data described as ‘modeled’ voter ethnicities and religions,” according to security firm UpGuard. If Americans missed that leak, chances are they didn’t miss the Equifax breach, in which the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses of 145.5 million people were stolen by hackers who had accessed the credit reporting agency’s records. That’s more than enough information to wreak havoc on someone’s credit history. Beyond that, more than 200,000 people had their credit card numbers stolen. The breach, among the worst of its kind to date, places tens of millions of people at risk of identity theft . The news about leaks continued into November, when ride-sharing company Uber announced that hackers had stolen data on 57 million rider and driver accounts the year before. The company, in a bid to keep things quiet, had paid the hacker $100,000. The year is ending in much the same way it began, with debate roiling over the role of social media in our society. But unlike the beginning of the year, the attacks are coming from former insiders—even the companies themselves.

At an event on November 8, Facebook founder Sean Parker said that social networks were “exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.” And earlier this month, former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya said , “We have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.” Then, just two weeks ago, Facebook itself, citing academic research, announced that social media can be harmful—posting and liking without conversing can lead to worsening moods and declining mental health. In the coming year, Facebook will most likely tweak its algorithm a few times—and maybe make a few larger changes aimed at de-emphasizing its role in politics and other social issues. But whether those changes will have any impact remains to be seen.

1. You accept followers or friend requests from people you don’t know.

You click on links you’re sent by online friends without asking what it is.

You’re sharing personal details. You’re neglecting privacy settings

All of your passwords are the same – or they are saved in your web browser. You don’t have security software.