Hackers are taking over LinkedIn profiles – what can you do?
A recent investigation by the security firm Symnatec has uncovered that hackers are creating fake profiles on the social networking site LinkedIn in an effort to scam users.
LinkedIn was established in 2003 and is a social networking site used by over 400 million professionals worldwide as an online form of business networking.
As well as allowing businesses to connect with each other, it is also provides a reliable way for recruiters to headhunt potential employees by sending them ‘connection requests’ which allow them to be able to send each other messages – a feature which hackers are now believed to be exploiting.
Symnatec has found that fake profiles have been created by individuals posing as recruiters, who then entice members into giving away personal information, often through the use of phishing campaigns, and websites containing malware.
LinkedIn users’ profiles are made up of a combination of their work history, specialist areas of knowledge, references and profile pictures and in many cases hackers have created their own fake profiles by stealing and duplicating this data and media.
Users of LinkedIn should be vigilant as ever against hacking threats, running checks on new connection requests from people that aren’t familiar to them and making sure that their computers, tablets, mobiles and other devices are up to date with patches, anti-virus and firewall software.
Symnatec recommends that businesses perform reverse image searches on any suspect profile pictures to see if it appears elsewhere on the internet and also advises them to copy and paste the written information from the profile to see what comes up.
Here at ECL we have extensive experience in protecting businesses against the latest computer hacks, viruses, spam, phishing scams and other threats and can advise you on the best methods of protecting your business. For more information please, please call us on 01268 575300 or email us on info@ecl.co.uk
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