It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million listeners. Terrestrial TV took 13 years to reach 50 million users. The internet took four years to reach 50 million people... In less than nine months, Facebook added 100 million users. Social networks and blogs are the 4th most popular online activities online, beating personal email. 67% of global users visit member communities and 10% of all time spent on the internet is on social media sites. 

 

There is no denying that we are in the midst of a digital revolution, with social media networks leading the way - growing in importance in both our personal and more recently our business lives. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for companies to defy the explosion of social networks and more and more brands are jumping on the band wagon, using it as a cost effective way to listen and engage with their audiences online on an individual level.

 

However, as with most new crazes, there is usually a note of caution that must go along with it – with the increasing amount of personal and company data being stored online, this is creating a potential gold mine for hackers and online criminals trying to access your data and spread viruses across the web. According to Internet security vendor Kaspersky Lab, “malicious code distributed via social networking sites is ten times more effective, in terms of successful infection, than malware spread via e-mail.” And MarkMonitor, a company that tracks online threats for its clients, determined that phishing attacks on social networking sites increased by 164% over the past year. 

 

Cisco projects a 30% to 40% increase in spam volume in 2010 and the continued proliferation of online banking Trojans. Many people remain wary of storing their banking information online. However, social networks represent a particular trouble spot because hackers can pose as ‘friends’ and people tend to trust communication from their supposed social network ‘friends’.  Koobface is arguably the best known social media virus that sends messages to the contacts of an infected account, tricking users into downloading a Trojan from a malicious Web site. They are becoming harder to detect as hackers disguise the malware in familiar language that users recognise and associate with friends, such as “Wow” or “LOL” or “Dude check this out”. The Acai berry is another virus has been hyped as a wonder dietary supplement, but it also has been the subject of pyramid schemes and “free” trial offer scams. Hackers have also been able to send out nuisance messages from the Twitter feeds of President Barack Obama and other active online celebrities. projects a 30% to 40% increase in spam volume in 2010 and the continued proliferation of online banking Trojans. Many people remain wary of storing their banking information online. However, social networks represent a particular trouble spot because hackers can pose as ‘friends’ and people tend to trust communication from their supposed social network ‘friends’.

 

But scammers aren’t just stealing identities and spreading malware. They are brand jacking in ways that are hurting companies’ bottom lines and this effecting all businesses right down to the small guys without the big budgets to protect themselves. Knock off software, hardware, merchandise, and movies ultimately cost legitimate taxpayers jobs and hurt the economy as a whole when the money is heading to criminal hackers elsewhere in the world.

 

So it’s clear that while the purpose of the scam isn’t exactly a concern for businesses, the hackers’ ability to take control of the accounts and hijack brands should be. As social networks are becoming more advanced and more intuitive, so too are the criminals that are trying to hijack them. So there is no denying that the business for hackers has become almost as big as the social networks themselves. But what can be done? Here are a few simple tips that may help:

 

I believe that any brand that ignores the importance of social media and isn’t listening and participating online will be left behind in 2010. However, as social media user numbers continue to sky rocket, so too does the potential pool of data for hackers. Brands must be aware of the rising security threats that come with the territory and must be informed on how best to control and protect their data from an increasing number of phishing, brand hijacking, malware and other online scams, because online security threats will only get worse before they can get better.