THE RISKS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

THE RISKS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING 2 The Risks of Social Networking The world is changing along with the modes of communication. The advent of technologies like the Internet and the World Wide Web has gradually made it possible for individuals to communicate with each other dwelling in different geographical regions. Today, communication is more of a virtual nature and people are more inclined towards using social networking sites as the platform for information exchange and for interaction. This inclination has instigated the emergence of a new wave of Internet usage which is thoroughly centered on the use of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. More and more information is now being exchanged on the social networking platforms and more and more new users are joining the bandwagon. On one hand this phenomenon has provided people with new opportunities to explore and exploit the benefits of technologies like the Internet and, on the other hand, this phenomenon has provided ample opportunities for the technologies and users of such technologies to exploit myriad of other users on a global basis. Excessive communication and interaction over the social networking sites has actually turned most of the users into individuals vulnerable to privacy breaches. Most of the social networking sites have their own security vulnerabilities and users of those sites are exposed to such risks. Moreover, the lack of awareness on the part of the users of the social networking sites about the ways of protecting their private information and about the risks related to the overuse of social networking sites have added to the problem. Considering the complications related to the unrestrained use of social networking sites it must be argued that, excessive use of social networking sites put the users at risk of security and privacy breaches which are instigated by perpetrators like hackers, spammers, and by all such individuals who view the social networking sites as target zones meant for exploiting people. THE RISKS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING 3 The fact that social networking does not always ensure the safety and protection of personal information is evident from the claims made by CEO of Fieldbrook Solutions LLC, Brad Dinerman. In his article, “Social networking and security risks,” he has emphasized the security risks posed by most of the social networking sites to the users. Dinerman’s approach has been a balanced one as he has spoken about both the merits and demerits of social networking sites, but the demerits which he have emphasized are serious ones. Dinerman has rightly pointed out that, each of the social networking platforms (including Facebook and Twitter) comes with its own set of security concerns which can put your information systems and/or personal data at risk (Dinerman, 2015). This is a fact which should be admitted by every user of social networking platforms. However, to ascertain the graveness of the problem, we have to resort to the opinions of several other researchers who have focused on the concerned problem in a thorough manner. One of the most serious problems with which users of social networking sites can be faced is the problem of hacking. In the journal article, “Social networking sites: security and privacy issues,” author Thomas F. Duffy has focused mainly on the problem of hacking which is a means for breaching users’ privacy and personal information. Duffy has pointed out that the sheer volume of users and the information that gets posted on social media sites create plenty of opportunity for an attacker to use social engineering or other methods to gain access to the accounts of individuals and organizations (Duffy, 2013). The more information people post, the more their security and privacy are at risk. Hacking is a menace to online security and privacy and, it is evident, that whenever a user is interacting over social networking sites, he or she is automatically becoming vulnerable to privacy breaches. Massive exchange of information over the social networking sites is enhancing the degree of risk related to personal information’s security online. The article “Privacy and online social networking websites,” has shown concerns about the excessive growth in the THE RISKS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING 4 degree of online interactions over social networking sites. Authors Goettke and Christiana have revealed a startling truth that the risk of personal information theft becomes manifold primarily due to the fact that most of the users of social networking sites are either not aware of how to protect their personal information from getting stolen or too much casual about the issue (Goettke and Christina, 2007). This unawareness and this casualness have made the problem graver. Furthermore, it must be noted that the government is also worried about the growing trend of security breaches occurring on social networking platforms. The sheer volume of users and the information that gets posted on social networking sites create plenty of opportunity for an attacker to use social engineering or other methods to gain access to the accounts of individuals and organizations. This fact is undeniable and this risk puts the user of social networking sites into more risks. With social networks continuing to add millions of users to their overall user base, crafty spammers are taking advantage of the popularity of these networks to design new spamming techniques week after week. So it can be seen that adding to the problem of privacy and security breaches, excessive use of social networking platforms also make the users vulnerable to acts of fraudulence which have the potential to put user’s privacy at stake. With the gradual evolution of the technology of social media, the risk to individual privacy has also increased. Nothing is safe online and the messages that people are exchanging and the communications they are indulging in on social networking platforms are prone to get hacked, and this is a serious problem to cope with. Hence it must be argued that, personal privacy is hard to be safeguarded against breaches on the social networking platforms. THE RISKS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING 5