Survey raises social networking security fears

13-06-2008

by Emmet Ryan

A new report has raised serious questions about the security of social networks such as Bebo and Facebook.

The study was conducted by Harris Interactive for IT security firm Cloudmark. The survey found that over the past year more than four-fifths of social networking site users said they received unwanted or spam friend invitations, messages or postings on their social or professional network account.

Cloudmark claimed that the problem with such unsought friend invitations is that they are often a prelude to more malicious activity. The security firm said social networking spam generally targets users with unsolicited product messages or attempts to redirect them to a phishing or malware site. Two-thirds of respondents said they would consider switching social networks if spam became too frequent.

On average respondents received an average of 64 unwanted friend invitations, messages or postings in the last 12 months.

"Social networking sites need to be concerned about the proliferation of spam and phishing attacks and the impact it could have on their ability to grow and retain members," said Jamie de Guerre, chief technical officer of Cloudmark. "Social networking providers must address the security issue head-on or risk declining usage and revenues."

Albeit a report commissioned by a firm with a vested interest in IT security, the survey makes for grim reading for social network operators. Users that get bombarded with spam could cease to see social networks as a useful communications tool due to all the clutter web surfers have to wade through.

There is already enough of this clutter being sent by friends of users, with social network members being bombarded with application invitations and the opportunity to play some irritating game involving zombies or vampires. The last thing Facebook et al require is for this existing irritation to be compounded by spammers.

The findings of the report lead to the possibility of there being a significant opportunity present for a social network that can develop a reputation for being spam free. If one of Bebo, MySpace, or Facebook can somehow achieve this likely impossible task then the potential to steal market share is high.