The pervasiveness of social media has made the process of endorsing products/ services and digital payments easy, but the job of fraudsters turned out to be a lot simpler at the same time. Cybercriminals make $3.25 million every year by exploiting social media platforms, as revealed by Social Media Platforms and Cybercrime Economy. Research conducted by Dr. Mike McGuire, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Surrey, revealed that social media is a cybercrime-as-a-service tool for online gambling, propagation of harmful content, phishing, theft, espionage, copyright infringement, sales of illegal articles, pornography, email spoofing, cyber defamation, and cyberstalking.Â
“Cyber attract globally increased by 125% in 2021, and the increasing volume of cyber attacks continued to threaten businesses, famous personalities, and individuals and will continue to do so in 2023 also”Â
2023 Cyber Crime Statistics report
This alarming increase in cybercrime fuels a multibillion-dollar underground economy as social media users are easy to target. 40% of malware on social media is connected to malvertising, and 20% of organisations have been infected by malware distribution via social media platforms, as reported by the Cybercrime Economy.Â
Accounts Of Famous Personalities Attacked By HackersÂ
The social media accounts of well-known personalities worldwide are also not spared from cyberattacks. Twitter accounts of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, along with 130 others, were hacked in the coordinated attack in July 2020. The hackers tweeted that the Bitcoin amount would be doubled if people sent it to a specific account. The former CEO and founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey’s account, was also hacked in 2019, and racist tweets were posted via his account. Mark Zuckerberg’s Pinterest and Twitter accounts have been hacked multiple times. With such cyber-attacks, hackers steal information and spread fake content, creating a fuss among people. Big brands like Burger King’s Twitter profile got hacked in 2017, where hackers changed the profile picture and description in favour of the biggest rival, McDonald’s. A 2021 study by Statista revealed “21% of organisations worldwide were targets of one to ten social media attacks. 34% experienced 11 to 50 cyber attacks generated through social media.”Â
Social Media Security For Keeping Accounts Cyber-SafeÂ
Cybercrime may not be entirely preventable, but users can take significant steps to reduce their risk of falling victim to cyber-attacks. In this fast-paced, digitally attacked world, staying cyber-safe is not an option but a dire need. Social media security has become a requisite for every social media user. Building strong passwords (not using again), adjusting account and privacy settings, using a virtual private network (VPN), staying informed about breaches, enabling two-factor authentication, keeping device/ software updated, using a full service-internet security suite, and following site-specific security recommendations are the best social media security tips that work as SHIELD against cyber attack. Cybercrime is a growing concern in the tech-driven world, especially social media. This has been attracting the attention of cybersecurity professionals, social media users, and organisations advertising on social media platforms. Social media cybersecurity largely depends upon the user’s ability to take preventive measures and their commitment to educate themselves on the current cybercrime attacks. Be it businesses, famous personalities, or individuals, keeping their social media accounts cyber-safe is required to prevent cyber attacks.
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