Social networks 'attractive for cybercriminals'

2010-02-24

Cybercriminals will carry out their attacks wherever they will get financial rewards and it seems that social networks are proving particularly attractive, it has been suggested.

Rik Ferguson, senior security advisor at Trend Micro, said that there are many potential targets on social networking websites and this makes them popular with cybercriminals.

Mr Ferguson also claimed that the trust factor of such services makes them even more appealing to online criminals.

"You believe that you know the person you're interacting with and so, if somebody within your circle of trust admits someone who shouldn't be there, that whole circle is broken for everyone," he explained.

His comments come after M86 Security's latest Security Labs Report highlighted a spike in attacks through social networking sites, which has been partly influenced by the increased use of shortened URLs.

According to the firm, such shortened URLs make it easier to obscure malicious links.

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