Know How Social Media Users Can Avoid Cybercriminals

Ahead of this year’s Cyber Security Month of October, social media users have been advised to use online features for protecting their accounts from being hacked.

Furthermore, they have been urged to be careful when posting their photos showing details of their locations and things they do to avoid falling into the trap of cyber criminals.

This year’s global campaign theme — “See Yourself in Cyber” — demonstrates that while cyber security may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people.

This October will focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity, providing information and resources to help educate the public, and ensure all individuals and organizations make smart decisions whether on the job, at home or at school – now and in the future.

Cyber security and digital forensics investigation expert, Mr Yusuph Kileo, has encouraged social media users to be more keen when it comes to protecting themselves from cybercrime.

“We hear a lot of people complaining about their accounts being hacked. So, one of the very important things is that nowadays every social media platform has released what we call ‘two-factor authentication (2FA)’, we call upon social media users to use one of authentication to protect themselves,”

Mr Kileo advised.

The 2FA is a security system that requires two separate, distinct forms of identification in order to access something.

The first factor is a password and the second commonly includes a text with a code sent to your smartphone, or biometrics using your fingerprint, face, or retina.

“Don’t overshare on social media, like oversharing locations or pictures, this might end up jeopardizing your own affairs without knowing the impact,”

he elaborated.

He added:

“I strongly encourage social media users to make sure that they think before clicking the random link on social media, because now we have what we call Clickjacking.”

The ‘clickjacking’ is an attack that tricks a user into clicking a webpage element which is invisible or disguised as another element.

He further noted that not all mobile applications are good. Some steal data, which causes snooping and spying from the devices.

“Before installing, users should read the warnings. You will see an application saying, for example, that it needs to go through your contacts, files and pictures some even warn that they can take a picture of you. However, most people just accept, and carry on installing them.”

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