Loss of Facebook
Apr 29, 2008 in Cyberfraud, Facebook, Identity theft
Graham Cluley, Senior tech consultant at Sophos, reports unintended exposure on Facebook for those assuming their profile is shared only with invitees.
I was flabbergasted when I joined a network on Facebook using a profile which I thought was secure, only to find Facebook had changed a number of settings and was opening me up to millions of strangers," said Cluley.
Who was to say that cybercriminals weren’t in that network too? Is it right that Facebook works this way?"
A particular concern of Sophos in their security appraisal was that, of the London network with 1.2 million members, over half entered their exact date of birth - the first desired element of cyberfraud.
The Facebook network issue almost amounts to identity-on-demand for cybercriminals, who are fully capable of taking advantage of unwitting Facebook fans. It’s crucial that users take a few minutes to look at their privacy settings before getting caught up in the undisputed fun of Facebook," concluded Cluley.
Sophos offer this essential guide to Facebook security, a must-read.