Social Engineering Using Social Networking Sites

2020 ◽  
pp. 810-822
Author(s):  
Roberto Marmo
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Security Industry ◽  
Industry Survey

Social engineering is a process that cyber criminals use to psychologically manipulate an unsuspecting person into divulging sensitive details. Social engineering is an extremely powerful tool that can be deployed to exploit the human's element of security and inherently psychological manipulation. According to a security industry survey, social engineering tops the list of the 10 most popular hacking methods. The first step in any social engineering attack is to collect information about the attacker's target. A social networking site is an online platform that allows users to create a public profile and interact with other users on the website. They are also a hotbed for social engineering cyber attacks to personal information; they are a relevant source of wealth of personal and organisational information that can be found within these social environments. This article defines social engineering and some techniques of social engineering attacks based on social networking sites, drawbacks on a users' privacy, and arising implications.

scholarly journals Impact of Social Networking Sites on Human Basic Privacy Rights

2018 ◽  
Vol I (I) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Javeria Nazeer ◽  
Muhammad Farooq
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Privacy Rights ◽  
Privacy And Security ◽  
Strongly Agree ◽  
The Impact

In recent era, Social networking sites (SNSs) have become an important source of communication and also became a matter of interest for researchers in several disciplines such as communications, technology and sociology. As SNSs are spreading rapidly, new issues regarding privacy and security are also raising. These Social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter etc. often reveal private data through the enclosure of public profiles, photographs, videos and messages send to the family, friends and general public. That is why the researcher is concerned to investigate the impact of Social networking sites (SNSs) on human basic privacy rights. As it was not possible to conduct a survey in complete population, therefore sample of 250 respondents (50% males & 50% females) was selected from different universities and colleges of Lahore, city of Pakistan. In the process of survey, questionnaire technique has been used to obtain the quantitative data. The findings revealed that Social Networking Sites significantly violate the human basic privacy rights. Majority of the respondents were of the view that privacy rights are harmed by SNSs. 10.4% respondents were strongly disagreeing about the statement that Facebook privacy is a real problem, 18.0% were disagree, 20.4% were neutral about the problem while 38.4% said they are agreed and 12.8% were strongly agree. The results also suggested that social networking sites leak personal data and also become a reason for disclosure of personal information. Hence, it is necessary when a user involves in the Social networking site he/she should be aware and vigilant of the privacy and security risks.

scholarly journals Risky eBusiness: An Examination of Risk-taking, Online Disclosiveness, and Cyberstalking Victimization

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Welsh ◽  
Jennifer A. A. Lavoie
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Theoretical Concepts

The expansion of online social networking sites and the relative accessibility to personal information provided by these sites has raised concerns about the risks for a variety of negative experiences, including cyberstalking. The present study investigated whether the theoretical concepts of Routine Activities Theory (RAT) could account for patterns of cyberstalking victimization among social networking site users. The study employed a self-report survey design using a convenience sample of 321 female undergraduate students. RAT was operationalized in the cyber context by measuring the level of online disclosure, frequency of internet use (online exposure) and general proclivity for risk-taking behaviours among participants. Personal experiences of cyberstalking were also assessed. Analyses specifically examined the relationship between RAT variables and cyberstalking outcomes and the extent to which a specific form of guardianship, online disclosiveness, served as a mediator between online activities and the risk for victimization. Online exposure and a proclivity for social risk-taking were associated with cyberstalking victimization. Levels of online disclosure demonstrated a direct positive impact on cyberstalking victimization, however our findings elucidating the role of online disclosure as a guardianship effort mediating the effects of exposure on cyberstalking victimization were mixed.

scholarly journals #SocialMedia: Exploring the Relationship of Social Networking Sites on Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Eating Disorders

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511770440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Santarossa ◽  
Sarah J. Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Dependent Relationship ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this study was to investigate whether problematic social networking site (SNS) use (i.e., degree of dependent relationship with SNSs), total SNS time/day, total SNS friends, and specific SNS activities were related to body image (BI), self-esteem (SE), and eating disorder (ED) symptoms/concerns. A sample of young adults ( N = 147) completed an online survey which measured SNS usage, problematic SNS use, BI, SE, and ED symptom/concerns. The findings revealed that females and males spent 4.1 ± 3.9 and 2.9 ± 2.8 hr on SNS, respectively, with the majority of time spent lurking (i.e., looking at another users’ profile but not actually communicating with them). Furthermore, problematic SNS use was found to be related to BI, SE, and ED symptoms/concerns. Moreover, SNS activities, such as lurking and posting comments on others’ profiles, were found to be related to BI, whereas SNS total time was found to be related to ED symptoms/concerns. Overall, this study demonstrates the possible correlational influence of SNSs on BI, SE, and ED symptoms/concerns.

Addiction to Social Networking Sites and User Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-91
Author(s):  
Hamed Qahri-Saremi ◽  
Isaac Vaghefi ◽  
Ofir Turel
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Big Five Personality Traits ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
User Behaviors ◽  
Person Centered Approach

Prior studies have primarily used "variable-centered" perspectives to identify factors underlying user responses to social networking site (SNS) addiction, their predictors and outcomes. This paper extends this perspective by taking a person-centered approach to examine (1) the prototypical subpopulations (profiles) of users' extent of SNS addiction and responses to it, (2) how affiliations with these profiles can explain user behaviors toward SNS use, and (3) how personality traits can predict affiliations with these profiles. To this end, we propose a typological theory of SNS addiction and user responses to it via two empirical, personcentered studies. Study 1 draws on survey data from 188 SNS users to develop a typology of users based on the extent of their SNS addiction and their responses to it. It further examines the relations between affiliation with these profiles and users' SNS discontinuance intention, as a typical behavioral response to SNS addiction. Study 2 uses survey data from 284 SNS users to validate the user typology developed in Study 1 and investigate its relations to users' Big Five personality traits. Our findings shed light on a typology of five prototypical profiles of SNS users-cautious, regular, consonant, dissonant, and hooked-who differ in their extent of SNS addiction and their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to it. Our findings also demonstrate how Big Five personality traits can predict user affiliations with these prototypical profiles.

scholarly journals Information disclosure, privacy behaviours, and attitudes regarding employer surveillance of social networking sites

IFLA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-222
Author(s):  
Deirdre McGuinness ◽  
Anoush Simon
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Privacy Settings ◽  
System Errors

This paper explores the use of social networking sites amongst the student population of a Welsh university, with particular respect to information-sharing and privacy behaviours, and the potential impact of social networking site checks by employers on future use of these sites. A mixed-methods research design incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to investigate the research question. Results demonstrated that participants were concerned with maintaining privacy online, and were careful with regards to posting and protecting information on social networking sites; however, protective measures were imperfect due to human and system errors. Most respondents were aware of social networking site surveillance, with many noting that this would have an impact on their future use; however, users are active in protecting their privacy through a combination of use of privacy settings and varied levels of information disclosure dependent on context.

Interactivity between Candidates and Citizens on a Social Networking Site: Effects on Perceptions and Vote Intentions

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Brewer ◽  
Michael Habegger ◽  
Ruby Harrington ◽  
Lindsay H. Hoffman ◽  
Philip Edward Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Site Effects ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
User Comments

AbstractVoters and political candidates increasingly use social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook. This study uses data from an online posttest-only experiment (N = 183) in analyzing how exposure to supportive or challenging user comments on a fictional candidate's Facebook page influenced participants’ perceptions of and willingness to vote for the candidate, as well as whether candidate replies to each type of user comments affected these outcomes. Participants who viewed a page with supportive comments and “likes” reported more favorable perceptions of and greater support for the candidate, relative to participants who viewed a page with challenging comments. Thus, the appearance of interactivity between a candidate and other users on the candidate's Facebook page can shape the responses of those viewing the page. However, exposure to candidate replies to either supportive or challenging comments did not lead to significantly more favorable perceptions or a greater likelihood of voting for the candidate.

User-generated content on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 558-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayan Chirayath Kurian ◽  
Blooma Mohan John
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Agency ◽  
Mixed Response

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore themes eventuating from the user-generated content posted by users on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency. Design/methodology/approach An information classification framework was used to classify user-generated content posted by users including all of the content posted during a six month period (January to June 2015). The posts were read and analysed thematically to determine the overarching themes evident across the entire collection of user posts. Findings The results of the analysis demonstrate that the key themes that eventuate from the user-generated content posted are “Self-preparedness”, “Emergency signalling solutions”, “Unsurpassable companion”, “Aftermath of an emergency”, and “Gratitude towards emergency management staff”. Major user-generated content identified among these themes are status-update, criticism, recommendation, and request. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to theory on the development of key themes from user-generated content posted by users on a public social networking site. An analysis of user-generated content identified in this study implies that, Facebook is primarily used for information dissemination, coordination and collaboration, and information seeking in the context of emergency management. Users may gain the benefits of identity construction and social provisions, whereas social conflict is a potential detrimental implication. Other user costs include lack of social support by stakeholders, investment in social infrastructure and additional work force required to alleviate the technological, organisational, and social barriers in communication among stakeholders in emergency management. A collective activity system built upon the Activity Theory was used as a lens to describe users’ activity of posting content on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency. Practical implications By analysing the findings, administrators and policy makers of emergency management could identify the extent to which the core principles of disaster recovery are accomplished using public social networking sites. These are achieved in relation to: pre-disaster recovery planning; partnership and inclusiveness; public information messaging; unity of effort; and, psychological recovery to maximise the success of recovery in a disaster. Furthermore, a core principle which evoked a mixed response was timeliness and flexibility. Originality/value Previous studies have examined the role of social networking sites in disastrous situations, but to date there has been very little research into determining themes found in user-generated content posted on the Facebook page of an emergency management agency. Hence, this study addresses the gap in literature by conducting a thematic analysis of user-generated content posted on the Facebook page of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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