In the News
Twitter makes headlines again and not for a good reason. In Twitter Draws Data Privacy Concerns with Two New Bugs, Lindsey O’Donnell at ThreatPost discusses Twitter flaws that allowed unauthorized apps to read personal DM’s as well as obtain country phone number codes from users. O’Donnell explains that full phone numbers were not exposed and stated that Twitter does not believe the DM access bug impacted users.
Our Take
Data privacy continues to be a topic of discussion regarding social media usage on a global scale. Social media platforms were created as a space for individuals could share and connect their lives with others. However, the reality of posting and sharing so many personal details online allows for the rise of privacy concerns not just regarding oversharing on your account, but also nonconsensual data breaches and sharing with third parties. While actively sharing personal information through private messaging may not always be the safest communication method, online platforms should protect the privacy of such content to the best of their availability. Small amounts of information such as phone numbers or details sent in private DM’s could be used for future phishing scams, credential stuffing attacks, and full-blown identity theft. Protecting such information is crucial to mitigating these risks.
Recommendations
How can you protect your data when using social media?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Be aware of default settings on social media platforms that automatically back up photos, files, and other potentially sensitive information to the Cloud. Use privacy settings when they are available
- Use safe password practices, and take advantage of Multi-factor Authentication where possible
- Refrain from sharing highly sensitive information through online messaging platforms