Cybercriminals 'increasingly flocking to social networks'

2009-11-16

Cybercriminals are increasingly looking to social networks to make their attacks, as they look to steal personal data, distribute spam or spread malicious software, it has been suggested.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, claimed that last year he was able to see the full date of birth of any Facebook user, even if they had requested that the social networking site never display the information.

"Research we conducted earlier this year found 66 per cent of companies believe workers are putting their firm at risk through their use of social networks," he commented.

His words come after reports have indicated that pop star Britney Spears's Twitter and MySpace have been hacked.

Messages on the celebrity's Twitter page claimed that she worshipped the devil, but these were deleted once her management regained control of the account.

A developer also recently found a major coding error on social networking websites MySpace and Facebook, which could let a hacker access users' data and photos.

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