U.S. Department of Justice Preventive Measures at Work: • Disable Global Positioning System (GPS) encoding. Federal Bureau of Investigation Many digital cameras encode the GPS location of a • “Defense in Depth” – use multiple layers of security photo when it is taken. If that photo is uploaded to a throughout the computer network. site, so are the GPS coordinates, which will let people • Identify ways you have lost data in the past and know that exact location. mitigate those threats. Educate employees about • Whenever possible, encrypt communications with those threats and how to change their behavior, if websites. It may be a feature social network sites necessary, to prevent future loss. allow you to enable. INTERNET SOCIAL • Constantly monitor data movement on your network. • Avoid accessing your personal accounts from public • Establish policies and procedures for intrusion computers or through public WiFi spots. detection systems on company networks. • Beware of unsolicited contacts from individuals in NETWORKING RISKS • Establish policies about what company information person, on the telephone, or on the Internet who are can be shared on blogs or personal social web pages. seeking corporate or personal data. INTERNET-BASED SOCIAL NETWORKING Enforce the policy. • Monitor your bank statements, balances, and credit • Educate employees about how their own online reports. SITES HAVE CREATED A REVOLUTION behavior could impact the company. • Do not share usernames, passwords, social security IN SOCIAL CONNECTIVITY. HOWEVER, • Provide yearly security training. numbers, credit cards, bank information, salaries, computer network details, security clearances, home CON ARTISTS, CRIMINALS, AND • Ask employees to report suspicious incidents as soon and office physical security and logistics, capabilities OTHER DISHONEST ACTORS ARE as possible. and limitations of work systems, or schedules and travel itineraries. EXPLOITING THIS CAPABILITY FOR Additional Preventive Measures: NEFARIOUS PURPOSES. • Do not store any information you want to protect on any ! device that connects to the Internet. No legitimate service or network administrator will ask There are primarily Two TacTics used • Always use high security settings on social networking you for your password. sites, and be very limited in the personal information To exploiT online social neTworks. you share. Monitor what others are posting about you • Do not provide information about yourself that will allow in pracTice, They are ofTen combined. on their online discussions. others to answer your security questions—such as 1. compuTer savvy hackers who • Use anti-virus and firewall software. Keep them, your when using “I forgot my password” feature. browser, and operating systems patched and updated. specialize in wriTing and manipulaTing • Be thoughtful and limit personal information you share • Change your passwords periodically, and do not reuse such as job titles, locations, hobbies, likes and dislikes, compuTer code To gain access or old passwords. Do not use the same password for or names and details of family members, friends, and insTall unwanTed sofTware on your more than one system or service. For example, if co-workers. someone obtains the password for your email, can they compuTer or phone. 2. social or access your online banking information with the same Educational Resources: human hackers who specialize in password? A number of organizations and websites provide additional exploiTing personal connecTions • Do not post anything that might embarrass you later or details on how to protect you and your workplace from that you don’t want strangers to know. Internet social networking threats. Through social neTworks. social • Verify those you correspond with. It is easy for people www.LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com hackers, someTimes referred To as to fake identities over the Internet. www.OnGuardOnline.gov social engineers manipulaTe people • Do not automatically download, or respond to content “ ,” on a website or in an email. Do not click on links in www.us-cert.gov Through social inTeracTions (in person, email messages claiming to be from a social www.ic3.gov over The phone or in wriTing networking site. Instead go to the site directly to , ). www.dhs.gov retrieve messages. www.ftc.gov • Only install applications or software that come from humans are a weak link in cyber trusted, well-known sites. “Free” software may come www.fbi.gov securiTy and hackers and social with malware. Verify what information applications will , be able to access prior to enabling them. Once manipulaTors know This. They Try To installed, keep it updated. If you no longer use it, Trick people inTo geTTing pasT securiTy delete it. walls. They design Their acTions To appear harmless and legiTimaTe. Click-jacking - Concealing hyperlinks beneath Phishing - Usually an email that looks like it is from legitimate clickable content which, when clicked, a legitimate organization or person, but is not and You receive a message from a friend on your social causes a user to unknowingly perform actions, such contains a link or file with malware. Phishing attacks networking site. The message directs you to view a video on another site. When you go to that site, a as downloading malware, or sending your ID to a site. typically try to snag any random victim. Spear phishing message pops up and says you need to download a Numerous click-jacking scams have employed “Like” attacks target a specific person or organization as their newer version of software. However, the software update and “Share” buttons on social networking sites. intended victim. is really malware that, when downloaded, gives control of your computer to the creators of the malware. (In some Disable scripting and iframes in whatever Internet browser Do not open email or email attachments or click on links sent cases, simply visiting the site will download the malware.) you use. Research other ways to set your browser options to from people you do not know. If you receive a suspicious The malware then sends a message to all your “friends” maximize security. email from someone you know, ask them about it before on your social networking site directing them to the same opening it. site with the malware. The malware creators soon have Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) - Malicious code is injected multiple computers under their control (a “botnet”). into a benign or trusted website. A Stored XSS Attack is when malicious code is permanently stored on a In March 2011, hackers sent two spear phishing emails to a server; a computer is compromised when requesting the small group of employees at security firm, RSA. They only Vulnerability of Social stored data. A Reflected XSS Attack is when a person is needed one employee to open an infected file and launch Networking Sites tricked into clicking on a malicious link; the injected code the malware. The malware downloaded information from Falling for an online scam or computer hack travels to the server then reflects the attack back to the RSA that then helped the hackers learn how to defeat RSA’s Social networking sites are Internet-based services that victim’s browser. The computer deems the code is from security token. In May and June 2011, a number of defense could be damaging for an individual victim as contractors’ networks were breached via the compromised well as the organization the victim works for. allow people to communicate and share information with a “trusted” source. RSA token. a group. Turn off “HTTP TRACE” support on all webservers. Research Such risks include: additional ways to prevent becoming a victim of XSS. Phreaking - Gaining unauthorized access to Risks: • Identity theft / Impersonation telecommunication systems. Doxing - Publicly releasing a person’s identifying • Harassment Once information is posted to a social networking site, it information including full name, date of birth, address, Do not provide secure phone numbers that provide direct is no longer private. The more information you post, the and pictures typically retrieved from social networking access to a Private Branch Exchange or through the Public • Peer pressure Branch Exchange to the public phone network. more vulnerable you may become. Even when using high site profiles. • Loss of employment security settings, friends or websites may inadvertently Be careful what information you share about yourself, family, Scams- Fake deals that trick people into providing leak your information. • Damaged business reputation and friends (online, in print, and in person). money, information, or service in exchange for the deal. Personal information you share could be used to If it sounds too good to be true, it is most likely a scam. • Damaged career or personal reputation Elicitation - The strategic use of conversation to extract conduct attacks against you or your associates. The Cybercriminals use popular events and news stories as bait • Damaged data or networks more information shared, the more likely someone could information from people without giving them the feeling for people to open infected email, visit infected websites, or impersonate you and trick one of your friends into sharing they are being interrogated. donate money to bogus charities. • Intellectual property theft / Data theft personal information, downloading malware, or providing Be aware of elicitation tactics and the way social engineers try • Brand hijacking access to restricted sites. to obtain personal information. • Delays or interruption in production Predators,