SOCIAL MEDIA – Is it Our Deadly Weapon Anymore or Under the Hackers?

Each of us handles a social media account or two. But how many of us know that Facebook remains the most vulnerable social network? A report says, "On average 1.4 billion social media accounts are hacked monthly". The number of hijacked accounts has increased by 1500% this year and it is expected that it will be on the rise until people are unaware. Bad hackers are always busy finding several new ways to exploit users and steal their important credentials. From individual to corporate organizations, all are being harassed. "64% of companies have experienced social media-related incidents such as hacking and fraud." Whatever people are sharing on social media, hackers are watching anonymously. Still, we let them watch and willingly, we are completely defeated by them and become destitute. 17% of Facebook users have deleted their accounts due to privacy concerns. Actually, this platform is full of hackers looking to commit cybercrimes. Most social media attacks are caused by Data Breach. Also, there are several causes like social engineering attacks, malware infections, phishing scams, and crypto-jacking. Despite that, "45% of social media users do not know their privacy settings, making them more prone to hacking incidents." Can you just imagine? 4 out of 10 people have fallen victim to social media fraud tactics. To not be one of them, here are some proactive measures:

1. Use strong passwords that are non-guessable
2. Switch on two-factor authentication
3. Don’t share too much personal information or payment credentials
4. Be cautious while accepting friend requests, check the post sequence, joining date
5. Keep your primary mobile number, and email ID in "Only Me" Mode
6. Turn on the profile picture guard
7. Do privacy checkup twice in a week
8. Check your data settings like linked Apps and websites and location
9. Check activity log
10. Turn on login alerts to check logins and logouts, where you are logged in and device name.
11. Manage profile information and device permissions info
12. Review before joining groups
13. If your account is already hacked and you get a message that they will get your account back, ignore those recovery scammers, simply go to the authorised "Help and Support" of Facebook.

Social Media platforms like Facebook are a prime target for unethical hackers. Social media user numbers are expected to increase by 16% and reach 500 million in 2025. So definitely use Facebook but keep your eye on hackers. Avoid falling prey to them. To learn more about the latest hacking techniques, you can boost your knowledge by learning Ethical Hacking at the beginning level. After that, an advanced Ethical Hacker can search for "OSCP Training in India" and do global certifications from the best training centre to be a worldwide well-known professional.