Safer Internet Day Twitter Spam
In an ironic twist, Twitter spambot accounts have been bombarding the Safer Internet Day hashtag #SID2012 with shady looking messages, from unlikely looking accounts, promoting abbreviated URLs that lead the unwary to pornographic sites.
On a Safer Internet Day that is aimed at bridging the gap between the generations online, it was particularly saddening to see many of the obfuscated URLs pointing to sites that contained the word “teen” in the title.
It is a familiar tactic, Twitter spammers will jump into popular topics of conversation to spread malicious or misleading URLs. In a way it’s testament to the success of Safer Internet Day that the hashtag is receiving this unwanted attention.
This quick blog is just to warn those new to Twitter, or the unwary, that you should always be careful where you click. The Internet today is a constantly shifting thing, a large part of its content is created by us, the users. Criminals and scammers use this creative freedom to jump into our online interactions and take advantage of newsworthy trends as they are happening.
It potentially only takes a single click to end up somewhere you would rather never have been, so think twice before clicking on an unsolicited link and in the case of obfuscated URLs, try using a service such as the free LongURL so you know in advance where you’re headed.
Spotlight
Cloud Computing
- Security in backups means more than just encryption
- Employees must buy into the company policy for better cloud security
- Desktop virtualization can enhance security performance
- Cybersecurity cooperation becoming military necessity
Virtualization
- Virtualization-specific challenges could threaten data security
- Evolving threats put security skills in high demand
- Virtualization security requires education, access control management
- Tips for launching effective virtual security tools
Internet Safety
- Virtualization-specific challenges could threaten data security
- Evolving threats put security skills in high demand
- Virtualization security requires education, access control management
- Tips for launching effective virtual security tools
Vulnerabilities & Exploits
CTO Insights
First Line of Defense
Newsletter
Stay up to date with the latest news and information on online threats.
Recent News
- FBI trying to train financial execs on cyber threats
- Wall Street has data security concerns over Bloomberg reporting
- Security in backups means more than just encryption
- Employees must buy into the company policy for better cloud security
Tag Cloud
cloud cloud computing cloud computing security Cloud Security Compliance & Regulations Consumerization Current News cybercrime Data Privacy data security Encryption Government Policy Internet Protection Internet Safety Internet Safety - DO NOT USE Internet Security Malware Mobile Security Mobility Policy Policy - DO NOT USE Privacy Privacy & Policy Private Cloud Public Cloud Reports Research Spotlight threat intelligence threat research Trend Labs Underground Economy virtualization Vulnerabilities Vulnerabilities - DO NOT USE web security web threats
Comments
No comments yet