Dangers_Social_Network

Dangers of Social Networks COM/150 April 1, 2012 It was raining like crazy, but I had to get outside. The quiet and rain were nerve racking. I was so stupid! After 22 years in the business I should have known better. I should have known not to give her my keys. My bank accounts and credit cards are frozen. Everyone knows about my son’s problem. My son will not respond to my telephone calls or letters. The very thing I warn others about has happened to me. Never in a million years did I ever think this could happen to me! I began communicating with her in a chat room while on duty. Since the chat room was provided by the company, I assumed she was a coworker. Every evening at 8:00 for five months I entered the chat room. Suddenly she was no longer there. My life has become an open book! Users of social networks should be aware of the risks when posting information to social network sites. Using social networks to post malicious or threatening comments can have a negative impact on a person’s career, education, or reputation. Additionally, people with criminal intentions use personal information from social network sites to steal the identity of others and commit crimes. Social networks are communities that allow individuals to exchange information and build relationships over the Internet. Social networks, initially created as entertainment, are now used by businesses, government, and academia as a means of communication. Social networks allow users to post unverified information about themselves or their organization and interact with others on a variety of topics. Research by the National School Board Association in 2007 showed 59% of online students talking about college or college planning, careers or jobs, politics, ideas, religion or morals and school work on social networks. Students exchange various types of information when discussing college, careers, politics, or questions of morality that can be used by criminals. People interacting on social networks to form intimate relationships definitely post information that can be used adversely. People share where they live, attend school, go to church, favorite hangouts, which shopping stores they prefer, and so much more on social networks. Whether using social networks for pleasure or business purposes, information given on social networking sites may have negative repercussions to users. According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2011), there are several types of social networking sites designed for individuals, corporations, governments, and institutions of higher learning. The six types of social network sites maybe one or a combination of: (a) personal, (b) status, (c) update, (d) location, (e) content-sharing, and (f) shared-interest. The most popular of the six types of social networking sites are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Webkins, Flickr, LinkedIn, and devianART. Today, people in different countries post pictures or videos to YouTube (shared-interest site) for anyone to see. During the east coast earthquake of 2011, individuals used Twitter and Facebook to post real time information about their personal status or what was happening in their area during the quake. With the push of the button Facebook users instantly tell people on their network a dining location and who they are dining with. Users of social networks also reach out to former classmates, chat about the good old days, and post pictures of former and current class events. Not once do any of the users think about the amount of information they are making available for people with criminal intentions. Despite the growing number of online social butterflies, access to social networking sites is a critical consideration by academia, government, and private industry for students and employees. Public and private industry executives, software developers, and information security professionals understand that social networking sites lack authentication, inconsistent privacy policies, and create security issues. Therefore, executives, software developers and information security professionals promote the development and implementation of security protocols that will reduce security issues surrounding social media. Says Eric Cole (2010), “Social networking has no authentication, so anyone can claim to be Brittany Spears or whoever they want to be when Twittering or Friending” (p.2). For some anonymity is an opportunity for free express while for others it is an open door for fraud. The lure of fast money through anonymous means, political defamation, or earning a reputation as a clever computer attacker can motivate family and friends to use social networks for unethical reasons. Criminals use social networking sites to easily connect with potential victims for financial or political gain. For purposes of this essay, a cyber-criminal is any clever computer attacker using scams and technology devices to defraud users of social networking sites. Recently, an employee at the Angus Barn in Raleigh North Carolina decided to use social media to post a picture of a $200.00 tip by Peyton Manning. The $200.00 tip was in addition to the 18% gratuity Manning had already paid. Posting the $200 tip on the social media web site seemed innocent, but in actuality, this was an invasion of Peyton Manning’s privacy. What appears as an exciting encounter posted to a social network had a negative impact on the user and poses a potential threat to Manning. Peyton Manning’s signature and credit approval code are now on social networks available for any cyber-criminal to commit identity theft and fraud. The employee is no longer employed at Angus Barn. Cyber-criminals may use one or a combination of identity theft, malware, or social engineering tactics to commit fraud on social networks. According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2011) identity thieves will target a user’s password, bank account information, credit card number, information stored on a computer, computer access without consent, and Social Security Number. Using the target information, the identity thief pretends to be the user and commits crimes for financial or political gain. Sometimes cyber-criminals use information from third party applications on social networks, such as Facebook, to gain access to user information. Take a careful look at the Farmville application game. To use Farmville, a Facebook user agrees to allow Farmville to acquire all of their Facebook personal information and contacts prior to playing the game. Since it is a fun game that the Facebook best friend, daughter, or spouse is also playing, the user agrees without reading the fine print. The Farmville application distributes the information to third party websites who in turn sell the information to other advertisers or Internet tracking companies. (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 2011). Clearly, social networks provide vast amounts of information which can be used by cyber-criminals. Cyber-criminals also use social network information to defame character and lure young girls or women away from families. Conversely, government agencies, law enforcement, potential employers, rental communities, and volunteer organizations include information on social networks as part of background checks, civil and criminal investigations. Information on social network sites has been used as evidence in criminal and civil trials. This includes divorce trials, child custody battles, insurance lawsuits, criminal trials and cases brought by university police against students for inappropriate behavior or underage drinking, to name a few. Information entered as evidence in a court case could potentially become part of a public record (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 2011, p.6). Unflattering pictures or threatening posts has affected a student status at an institution of higher learning. A recent television news account told of a social network related incident by a University of Maryland student. The student posted threats on a social network site about him carrying out a shooting rampage on campus to make national news. According to the news the student has been arrested, placed on suspension by the University, and is not permitted on campus until the incident is resolved. Apparently the student thought his social network account was anonymous and no one would know it was him according to the University of Maryland Alerts (2012). The actions of this student making a threatening statement could have been a joke or it could have been for real. Regardless of the outcome it appears his character as well as mental status is in question. Who do you think will hire him' What institute of higher learning will accept him as a student' How will society treat him' Today computer technology is making the world smaller. Computer technology is changing social interaction. Almost every task in the course of a day interrelates with a form of technology. Information, whether true or distorted, is readily available. Social network users post this information and initiate chats. Chats can be public or private. I was arrested! I have been charged with computer theft. They say I created fake identifications, stole money from people bank accounts, and used credit cards belonging to others to make purchases totaling over $525,000.00! The crimes were committed in Nevada, California and Utah during 2010. I have never been to those states. Try telling that to police officers with a ton of evidence that says otherwise. My entry into the University’s doctoral program has been rejected. My employer has me on paid suspension. My PGA membership has been canceled until further notice. The police have confiscated my computer, printer, and files. My life is spinning out of control. The rain has stopped. The surf is high, and the waves are pounding the shoreline. As I walk down to the shore a lone figure stands with her long read hair blowing in the wind. She turns, waves, and yells a greeting. I know that voice. It is her! My coworker and chat room friend has returned. Maybe things are not so bad after all. I still should not have trusted my sister with my office keys. References Cole, Eric. (2010). Enabling social networking applications for enterprise usage. Retrieved February 22, 2012 from http://wyoming.gov/pdf/SANS_taming-the-social-network.pdf National School Board Association. (2007). Creating & Connecting/Research and guidelines on online social – and educational – networking. Retrieved on February 22, 2012 from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/sourcefiles/CreateandConnect.pdf Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. (2011). Fact Sheet 35: Social networking: How to be safe, secure, and social. Retrieved on February 18, 2012 from http://privacyrights.org/Online-Privacy-and-Technology University of Maryland. (2012). UMD Alerts. Retrieved on March 13, 2012 from https://alert.umd.edu/latest.php