Are your social media accounts secure in 2023?
High-profile social media hacks are constantly making headlines. In the last year, celebrities, Cabinet ministers and even the British army have experienced social media attacks. Unfortunately for us, celebrities are not the only people who are at risk.
With more than 4.5 billion users around the world, it is more common than ever for cyber criminals to target social media accounts. Poor security combined with the wealth of personal information available makes social media an attractive target.
We wouldn’t hesitate to secure our financial accounts, emails or sensitive data so why should our social media accounts be any different? As social media hacking and scams look set to get more sophisticated in 2023, now is the time to take action.
In our latest blog, we outline what to look out for and our top tips for keeping your social channels safe.
How do hackers access your accounts?
Phishing is the most common form of cyber-attack in the UK, so it must come as no surprise this is a popular method of attack on social media. Phishing attacks involve hackers trying to steal your login information through scam messages or emails. They pose as social media companies asking you to confirm your login credentials on a spoofed landing page. From this, they can capture all your details and you could be none the wiser.
Public, unsecured Wi-Fi also poses a real threat to your login information. Hackers use unsecured networks to intercept your data and gain access to your account.
READ MORE: Could public Wi-Fi be a threat to your data?
Weak and stolen passwords are the most common cause of data breaches. Passwords can be cracked through brute force attacks or large-scale data leaks. Shockingly, basic passwords like ‘12345’, ‘qwerty’ or even ‘password’ still catch people out.
What are they trying to achieve?
Hackers target social media for several reasons. They might be trying to steal personal information, cause reputation damage or simply create disruption.
In a recent spate of attacks, cyber criminals have hacked high-profile social media accounts to promote cryptocurrency. Countless celebrities have unknowingly had their accounts taken advantage of and used to promote these scams. Cryptocurrencies are commonly used for this because they are designed in such a way that makes it nearly impossible to recover the funds once they have been transferred.
In the summer of 2021, several high-profile targets including Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk fell victim to a sophisticated and coordinated social engineering attack. Hackers took control of their accounts to ask for Bitcoin from their followers in exchange for double the amount in return. Within three hours over $115,000 had been transferred to the hackers’ Bitcoin accounts.
How do you know you’ve been hacked?
There are a few telltale signs that will help you spot if your account is compromised:
Your password has changed
Someone has logged in from another location or an untrusted device
Your contacts report strange messages from your account
Posts appear that you did not share
Change in the number of friends of people you are following
What steps can be taken to secure your accounts?
Use a strong, unique password.
Did you know 80% of data breaches involve stolen or weak passwords as the main vulnerability? Weak passwords are a serious liability for any individual, business or organisation. It takes just one weak or cracked password for a cybercriminal to gain access to your data, personal information or accounts.
Using the same password across multiple accounts and platforms could have serious repercussions. If your password is breached on one platform then hackers have access to everything else.
An ideal password is made up of 16 unique, random and complex characters, numbers and symbols. Although they may be difficult to remember, the chance of someone guessing a password of this nature is extremely low.
Use two-factor authentication
Using two-factor authentication is best practice for social media. It can be enabled quickly and easily on most social platforms by simply adjusting your security settings.
Two-factor authentication is the process of proving a user’s identity by requiring two or more levels of verification to log in to an online resource. To access your social media account, 2FA sends a one-off code to your mobile device or authentication app once you have entered your password.
Although this may seem like a hassle, two-factor authentication is an essential line of defence against cyber criminals. The extra layer of protection means that even if your password is stolen or breached, a hacker will not gain instant access to your accounts.
Consider making your account private
Obviously, this step isn’t appropriate for everyone, however, we would recommend this to anyone who values their data security and personal privacy. Our social media accounts hold so much personal information that can be used to a hacker’s advantage. As we share more and more online, the risk of an attack increases. Keeping your account private ensures this information isn’t out there for everyone to see.
In sophisticated social engineering attacks, a hacker can utilise social media to build a profile on their victims. They can even use it to find the answer to common security questions like your first pet’s name or where you were born.
Be vigilant
Education and awareness are some of the most powerful tools to combat these kinds of attacks. Before falling victim to an internet scam or phishing attempt it’s important to question the validity of the content, message or email. Most phishing attempts are not that sophisticated so if you know what to look for it should be fairly easy to avoid.
