Facebook Option Leaves Users Vulnerable
Last year, networking site Facebook launched its then-new public search listings feature. The idea was to allow non-Facebook users to view profiles.
But researchers at England’s University of Cambridge say the feature could make it easier than ever to target individuals for ID theft.
In a recently published paper, the UK-based researchers showed how they had developed a software tool to target Facebook users in ways you might never think of…but which could put the individual’s online safety in jeopardy.
Even Limited Information May Reveal Too Much
Joseph Bonneau, Jonathan Anderson, Ross Anderson and Frank Stajano of Cambridge University’s Computer Laboratory outlined how web spiders could go back again and again to pull the identities of a Facebook user’s friends. A software program could then easily make inferences about the user’s associations.
This could lead to targeted phishing scams, reports claim.
According to Mr. Bonneau, marketers look for “the best connected” individuals to target for their campaigns, as these popular network users may be able to influence others.
However, the data could also be used by criminals whose intent, too, is to make a buck…but through theft.
“You could do targeted phishing attacks if you knew people’s (Facebook) friends and claim (sic) to be their friend,” Bonneau pointed out.
Facebook Says: Change the Settings
Facebook representatives said there may be less danger than is being claimed, particularly since privacy settings can be changed by the user.
Facebook’s chief privacy officer Chris Kelly pointed out that the search feature is meant to help users by allowing each user to control his or her own privacy settings. A Facebook user can leave certain data accessible, but only a limited amount if he or she chooses.
“Changes as to the presence or content of a public search listing may be made easily by any user on the privacy settings page,” Mr. Kelly pointed out.
But Mr. Bonneau argued that many users don’t even know there’s an option. “(Facebook users) think it’s just their friends who can see their data” most of the time, he claimed.
Facebook users can opt out of the public listings feature if they’d like to remain hidden from non-Facebook users, an option that may be more protective in the long run.
A full copy of the Cambridge University study can be found here.
