Security and Privacy Issues Related to Social Media

This report discusses the security and privacy issues related to social media usage. It looks at the technologies used to implement social media, the challenges of social media technology security and privacy, and how to deal with some of the raised security issues.

Running Head: SECURITY AND PRIVACY ISSUES RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA 1
Security and Privacy Issues Related to Social Media

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Abstract
In recent years, social media has continued to increasingly disrupt the way we communicate and
share information. This report has conducted a brief introduction to social media, and looked at
technologies used to implement social media including the Internet, access devices and web and
mobile applications. Additionally, the paper looks into the security and privacy issues with social
media usage. User data is not safe if their social accounts can easily be hacked and attacked. A
discussion has been carried out on how to deal with some of the raised security issues. A
research gap has also been identified as user data privacy not implemented fully on social
platforms and further research directions recommended.

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Table of Contents
Overview of Social Media...........................................................................................................................4
Technologies and Applications used with Social Media..............................................................................4
Challenges of Social Media Technology Security and Privacy...................................................................5
Discussion...................................................................................................................................................5
Research Gap...............................................................................................................................................6
Future Research Directions.........................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................6

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Overview of Social Media
Social media refers to technologies that enable the creation and distribution of ideas,
information, interests etc. via networks and virtual forums (Obar & Wildman, 2015). Popular and
modern social media platforms include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat,
WhatsApp, Tumblr, Skype, Pinterest and more. Facebook has over 2 billion active users
worldwide, followed by YouTube with 1.5 billion users, WhatsApp follows with 1.2 billion,
Twitter has over 328 million and Skype over 300 million users (Statista, 2018). Users normally
access social media services through web technologies on laptops, desktop, tablets and
smartphones computers. With social networking sites, users have the ability to create and upload
personal profiles. Additionally, modern business have social media accounts where they market
products and services and engage with existing and potential customers. Social media platforms
typically center on individuals and connecting with other people and developing one on one
virtual relationships with friends, family and business stakeholders. When engaging with social
media, users create highly interactive platforms where individual members, online forums,
organizations, communities can create, share, discuss posted content.
Technologies and Applications used with Social Media
Technological innovations and applications play an integral roles in social media platforms and
applications require technology to be executed (Berthon, Pitt, Plangger, & Shapiro, 2012).
Technologies used with social media include the following:
i) The Internet: Social media cannot exist without the Internet as it is the main
enabler for social media sites. Users only access social networking sites only

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when they have an Internet connection. As a result, the major technology for
social media then becomes the Internet.
ii) Access Devices: social media access requires that users have the right devices
including cellular phones, desktops, laptops and tablets. Without the right device
and an Internet connectivity, there would be no access to social media.
iii) Web and Mobile Applications: in the past social media platforms were accessed
through web applications such as www.facebook.com or www.twitter.com. Such
web applications are still in use to help users access their profiles. However, today
users can access social media using mobile apps. Social media platforms have
therefore created mobile apps for users to access social media services on the go.
Challenges of Social Media Technology Security and Privacy
The advent of social has totally disrupted interactions and communication with friends, family
and business partners. It has fostered instant and dynamic communication channels. However,
there are issues with security and privacy when it comes to social media including the following:
 Data Privacy and Anonymity Issues
Many social media platforms models that do not provide users with enough protection and
privacy. . The models require users to allow access to their profile information and associate that
with the user identity. For example, Facebook in general requires that a user agrees to give its
application access to his/her profile through API’s which is essentially a way of tying a user
until they give access to their account identity (Hekkala, Vayrynen, & Wiander, 2012). Others
like ‘WhozThat’ allow Bluetooth pairing when devices are in close proximity and user data and
information can be snooped or eavesdropped over a wireless channel although there are

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relatively weak provisions of encryption. Just this month, April 2018, Facebook was dealing
with user data privacy scandal. Over 30 million Facebook user’s data was collected and sold to
Analytica, a political consulting firm (Banerjea, 2018). Facebook has since claimed that the
company were not aware of the issue. This just shows that user data may not be secure out there
on social media sites which is a great challenge for users across the globe.
 Unauthorized/ Illegal Access
Another challenge with social media is unauthorized access by hackers or any other attackers.
There have been many reports of user accounts hacked into and used to perpetrate criminal
attacks. Hackers also intrude social accounts to post content that account users would otherwise
not post. Even when users secure their accounts with passwords, hackers can still access them.
These security issues mainly have a tremendous negative impact on individuals and entire virtual
societies.
 Eavesdropping, Replay, Spoofing and Wormhole Attacks
It is possible to intercept a user’s social account in peer to peer networks to replay and spoof an
attack. In such an attack, an intruder can pretend to be the original user by forwarding
(replaying) the diverted ID to devices that will request the ID from the user. Another replay
attack is the wormhole attack where wireless packets are apprehended on one end of a network
and replayed on another (Aaron, Mike, & Richard, 2007).
Discussion
Social has brought a lot of benefits for users around the world. Users are now able to make
instant connections with their families, friends and family. Social has thus enabled quick and

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reliable communications channels. With regard to businesses, social media has enabled
businesses to increase their web presence on the web and perform targeted social media
marketing. But, social media has also played negative role for the society. It has been by
criminals to attack innocent users including luring them to send money or involve them in
dangerous relationships. Hackers have illegally accessed people’s user’s accounts for malicious
activities. Although social media is an emerging technology, it would be important to study and
examine its usage in order to ensure user privacy and security. In regard to data security, users
can
i. Incorporate and use strong passwords containing more than 8 letters, numbers and special
characters which makes it very difficult for users to guess even with the help of password
guesser’s applications.
ii. Additionally, users can also implement two factor authentication to ensure strong security
measures for their accounts. The deeper problem lies on the issue of data privacy with
questions on whether social media platform providers are implementing the right
mechanisms and procedures to secure user data.
Research Gap
Social media is still a new and developing technology. As a result, its usage, applications,
warnings, and other features are still very new to many users (Robert, 2011). However, it is
progressively expanding as there’s so much interest by people across the globe because of its
facilitation to reach many people instantly, snare and connect with just anyone. Not much has
been done regarding social media user data privacy otherwise Facebook should not have released
people’s data without their permission. Additionally, it is not easy to distinguish credible and
fake information that comes through social media (National Academy of Sciences, 2013).

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Research is not yet carried out to users can send credible information on the channel. As such,
there are no applications or practical ways to evaluate information credibility and reliability since
anyone can post anything they want. It is also not clear yet, the effective strategies that people
should take when unreliable information proliferates social media
Future Research Directions
The report identifies some research gaps with social media security and privacy including
implementing user privacy. It is therefore to carry out research on how user data is protected and
made confidential on social platforms. How does a user know whether his or her information is
used by the social media company or not? Further research should be done on how users can
apply applications and strategies to help them distinguish between real and fake information that
runs through social media.
References

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Aaron, B., Mike, G., & Richard, H. (2007). Solutions to Security and Privacy Issues in Mobile
Social Networking. Retrieved from
https://www.cs.colorado.edu/~rhan/Papers/smw09_solutions_security_privacy.pdf
Banerjea, S. (2018, April 11). Facebook Roundup: The Privacy Issue. Retrieved from
https://www.zacks.com: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/298853/facebook-roundup-
the-privacy-issue
Berthon, P. R., Pitt, L. F., Plangger, K., & Shapiro, D. (2012). Marketing meets Web 2.0, social
media and creative cosnsumers: Implivations for International marketeing strategies.
Hekkala, R., Vayrynen, K., & Wiander, T. (2012). INFORMATION SECURITY
CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR COMPANIES. ECIS 2012 Proceedings
paper 56, (pp. 3-5).
National Academy of Sciences. (2013). PUBLIC RESPONSE TO ALERTS AND WARNINGS
USING SOCIAL MEDIA: REPORT OF A WORKSHOP ON CURRENT. Retrieved from
https://www.nap.edu/read/15853/chapter/1#ii
Obar, J., & Wildman, S. (2015). Social media definition and the governance challenge: An
introduction to the special issue.
Robert, S. (2011, May 25). Social Media Privacy and Personal Security Issues. Retrieved from
www.huffingtonpost.com: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-siciliano/social-media-
privacy-and_b_245857.html
Statista. (2018). Global social media ranking 2017 - Statistics . Retrieved from Most popular
social networks worldwide as of April 2018, ranked by number of active users (in
millions): https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-
number-of-users/