Facebook is the most secure social networking site among the major players, thanks to improved privacy controls and support for more secure two-factor authentication technology, but the social media sector as a whole remains vulnerable to different types of account takeover. According to a study released Tuesday by access management vendor Cerby, the biggest area…

Social Security Administration officials warn there is a new scam making the rounds that involves fake government identification badges. Gail S. Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration (SSA), issued a fraud alert this week that describes the new tactic. Imposters use images of the fake badges in phone scams to deceive people into…

PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY – Part 2: How to Maximize Your Privacy on Social Media and in Your Browser

In the last post we highlighted the privacy risks associated with using popular social networking sites and browsers. You might not appreciate just how much of your personal data is being accessed by advertisers and other third parties via your social media accounts and internet browsing. Similarly, your privacy settings may have changed significantly since…

We’re not going on a summer holiday

You know the saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Cybercriminals seem to have taken that truism to heart, because they continue to reuse the same old scams — and they never fail to find victims. Last summer, social media worldwide were flooded with reposts of fake airline giveaways. We covered it at the time,…

Fake executive social media accounts threaten enterprises

New research has uncovered numerous duplicative Twitter and LinkedIn accounts among Fortune 500 leaders, raising concerns about potential security vulnerabilities. Analysts at BrandProtect reviewed profiles for the 54 CEOs at Fortune 500 companies using Twitter and the 187 CEOs using LinkedIn. Of these CEOs, 19 percent were represented online by multiple Twitter accounts, while 9…

Trapped in social networks

A recent survey of 4,831 active social network users, conducted by Kaspersky Lab in 12 countries, reveals that an overwhelming majority (78%) of respondents considered quitting their social networks — but chose to stay. They wanted to leave for a variety of reasons: 39% of users complained they were wasting too much time, the top…