Antivirus, Internet Security, Social Media

How safe are social media platforms?

Just how safe are social media platforms? Social networking companies are known to spend millions of dollars to keep their…

Just how safe are social media platforms? Social networking companies are known to spend millions of dollars to keep their users protected from hackers on the internet.

With over 2 billion people having at least one account on either Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or Whatsapp, it goes without saying that social media is one of the cyber criminals’ favorite playgrounds they are always looking to exploit. After all, where else would one find such a large database of active internet users?

In fact, it would be shocking to know that over 80 percent of all internet crimes involve some kind of a social media platform. Criminals might use this information as identity theft to carry out various other crimes on the internet.

But, shouldn’t social media companies make sure that the user information they possess is well protected? Ultimately, that’s where their money is…

They definitely do! Most social media websites and apps that are used today are either owned by Facebook or Google. And as far as any serious intrusion of their servers resulting in substantial data theft is concerned, that actually never happened. Rather, most security compromises happen due to intelligent social engineering by hackers. According to a figure released by Facebook, that number was as high as 500,000 accounts in a single day.

So, what is social engineering? And, how do hackers get access to users’ accounts?

To gain access to a user’s account, all that is required is their username and password. The concept is straightforward. Hackers may employ one of their many deceptive techniques that have been carefully planned to manipulate individuals into providing personal information voluntarily. All they need is a platform to carry it out and that being – social media! Let’s discuss a few of these methods one at a time:

 

Phishing

 

For many, this term might not be new and some might have already been a victim of it. Phishing is a technique to obtain confidential information like usernames, passwords, bank, and credit card details through fraudulent disguised emails or WebPages asking users for their usernames and passwords.

Before the advent of social media, cyber culprits used emails to facilitate such operations. Today, social media websites have made this process a lot easier as once a user’s account is compromised, hackers proceed further by exploiting others in his friend’s network. Since users tend to use the same username and password across multiple platforms for simplicity, a breach of one account might have consequences on others as well.

 

Keyloggers

 

Keyloggers are software that, once installed on the system, monitor every move of a user. This includes typing usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information. The easiest way for hackers to entice users to install such software is by providing a link to a disguised software that claims to have a different purpose.

 

Wi-Fi networks

 

While you should be pretty safe if you are just using your private Wi-Fi connection, things might get a little unpleasant when it comes to public networks. Of course, it depends on the type of network itself and the devices connected to it. Cyber criminals have certainly been able to sniff data from users who are connected to weakly secured networks.

 

Physical access and Theft

 

One doesn’t really need to be a cyber mastermind to gain access to ones social media accounts. All that is required is gaining access to a user’s device. In fact, letting your device be in the wrong hands even for a few minutes is enough to have your valuable data stolen.

Most of us rely on our browsers and different website to remember our usernames and passwords. After all, why should we type in our information when our devices can remember them for us. However, these must be stored somewhere, right? Depending on the browser, these are saved in different locations on the user’s computer. Though they are encrypted, it wouldn’t be safe to presume they cannot be cracked once their location is known.

 

How can we keep our accounts safe?

 

Keeping your accounts secure shouldn’t be a devil of a job. All that is required is a little caution and awareness. After all, a small human error is all that a hacker might be looking for.

We’ve discussed the various techniques cyber attackers use to intrude into users’ accounts. Apart from that, there are various things that should be kept in mind while using social media. Let’s see how we can avoid them.

 

  • Use strong usernames and passwords that are hard to crack. Additionally, you can use a password manager to help you store them.
  • Avoid logging in through public hotspots. Not all social networking websites have a secure login system.
  • Be careful while clicking on links. It is best to avoid them if they aren’t from a known source. Hackers might often post tempting links to malicious phishing websites.
  • Keep your firewall on and anti-virus up-to-date.
  • Go through your profile settings. If you feel you want to hide some of your information, do not hesitate to do so.
  • Provide the least amount of personal information – If you are an administrator of a Facebook page, it is best to keep that role only to your self. An administrator has full access and control to a business page, including the ability to delete it, even if it wasn’t created by him. While you may have enough trust on someone you are assigning the role to, you never know when his account security is breached. Keeping the role to a moderator or editor is the way to go.
  • Remember to log-out of your accounts after every session.
  • Do not share your photos while you are away from home. Your absence might pose a risk of someone breaking into your house.
  • Disable location settings. You wouldn’t want all your friends and followers to know your exact location.

 

Social media platforms spend millions of dollars to keep their users protected. With so many social media networks out there today, one might be too lazy to take the necessary precautions to keep his accounts safe. However, it must be noted that almost all security breaches happen due to one kind of human error or another.

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Internet Security

Singaporean, 16, under ISA restriction order after being radicalised by far-right extremist ideology

Advertisement Singapore Singaporean teen who identified as white supremacist placed under ISA restrictions for far-right extremism The teenager strongly identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks overseas, says the Internal Security Department. File photo of a person using a laptop. (File photo: iStock/Chainarong Prasertthai) New: You can now listen to articles. Sorry

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Singaporean teen who identified as white supremacist placed under ISA restrictions for far-right extremism

The teenager strongly identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks overseas, says the Internal Security Department.

Singaporean teen who identified as white supremacist placed under ISA restrictions for far-right extremism

File photo of a person using a laptop. (File photo: iStock/Chainarong Prasertthai)


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  • The student is the second Singaporean to be dealt with under the Internal Security Act for being radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies
  • He was exposed to violent extremist material online in 2022 and developed an intense hatred of communities typically targeted by far-right extremists, including African Americans, Arabs and LGBTQ individuals
  • Although he hoped to be recruited for violent attacks overseas, the student did not take steps to actualise his aspirations beyond searching online for weapons

Firdaus Hamzah

Firdaus Hamzah

Firdaus Hamzah

24 Jan 2024 02:00PM
(Updated: 25 Jan 2024 09:42AM)



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SINGAPORE: A 16-year-old Singaporean student who was self-radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies has been issued a restriction order under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The teenager, who is of Chinese ethnicity, identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks overseas, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Wednesday (Jan 24).

“However, beyond online searches for weapons, he did not take steps to actualise his attack aspirations as he lacked the financial resources and know-how to do so,” ISD said.

It added that he had no plans to conduct any attacks in Singapore.

The student, who was not named, was in Secondary 4 when he was placed under a restriction order in November 2023. This means he is not allowed to travel out of Singapore, access the internet or social media without the approval of the ISD director, among other restrictions.

He is the second Singaporean to be dealt with under the ISA for being radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies.

The first – a 16-year-old Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity – was detained in December 2020 after planning to attack two mosques in the Woodlands area.

Authorities said at the time that he had made “detailed plans and preparations to conduct terrorist attacks” against Muslims, and that he was influenced by the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant – the man who attacked mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The youth has since been released from detention, ISD said on Wednesday, adding that he had made “good progress” in his rehabilitation and is assessed to no longer pose an imminent security threat.

SELF-RADICALISATION PROCESS

Providing details of the latest case, ISD said the teenager was exposed to violent extremist material online in 2022, after chancing upon videos by American far-right personality Paul Nicholas Miller.

Miller is known for promoting a race war and espouses white supremacist and neo-Nazi rhetoric. He has been tied to multiple far-right extremist organisations overseas, including the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo movement.

By early 2023, the teenager had developed an intense hatred of communities typically targeted by far-right extremists, including African Americans, Arabs and LGBTQ individuals, said ISD.

“Fuelled by online extremist rhetoric, he came to believe that African Americans were responsible for a significant percentage of crime in the United States, and deserved to ‘die a horrible death’,” it added.

“He also perceived illegal Arab immigrants as having committed violent attacks against white populations in Western countries.”

ISD said the teenager subscribed to the Great Replacement Theory commonly referenced by far-right terrorists like the Christchurch attacker, which propagated the idea that the indigenous white population in Western countries were in danger of being replaced by non-white immigrants. 

“Such ethno-nationalist beliefs convinced him that non-white communities such as African Americans and Arabs should be driven away from white-majority countries,” said ISD. 

“The youth participated in several far-right online chat groups and channels, where he shared violent anti-African American videos, as doing so gave him a sense of belonging to the white supremacist community.” 

When asked how this case came to light, ISD told CNA it was unable to comment due to operational concerns. 

It added that the ISA remains a “relevant and effective legislative tool” that allows for pre-emptive action to be taken to neutralise any security threats, such as in the case of the two youths.

“Regardless of the cause or extremist ideology involved, the authorities will not hesitate to take actions against any Singaporean or person residing in Singapore who supports, engages in, or attempts to engage in, armed violence,” it said. 

Growing concern with youth radicalism, terrorism threat to Singapore remains high: ISD

Terrorist groups increasingly targeting youths, Singapore a ‘prized target’: DPM Wong

ASPIRATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN ATTACKS

According to the ISD, the teenager had hoped to be recruited for violent attacks by white supremacist groups overseas to “fight for the whites”.

He considered travelling to countries such as France, Italy, the US and Russia to participate in attacks against his “vilified communities”.

“Specifically, he shared his interest to conduct a mass shooting in the US in 10 years’ time in a far-right online chat group,” said the ISD.

The agency added that while he searched online for weapons, he did not take steps to actualise his attack aspirations as he lacked the financial resources and know-how to do so. 

“The youth had no plans to conduct any attacks locally, as he felt that these communities had not caused trouble in Singapore,” said ISD.

“There was no indication that the youth had tried to influence his family or friends with his violent extremist views, nor were they aware of his attack ideations.”

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