41% of Leaked Data Comes From Social Media According to This Study / Digital Information World | #socialmedia

Social media has brought widespread advantages such as enabling people to communicate with one another from disparate corners of the globe. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that social media has also created a few problems mainly in the cybersecurity department. Security breaches in the databases that social media sites use can result in millions of account details getting leaked, which makes social media an especially vulnerable weak point for cybersecurity professionals to contend with.

Back in 2020, around 25% of leaked records originated from database breaches among social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. In spite of the fact that this is the case, the numbers in 2022 have soared past this range with about 41% of all leaked data coming from social media leaks and data theft. This information comes from the recent report released by ForgeRock (Via AtlasVPN), and it highlights just how much of a threat social media sites pose to the security of all online users.

Massive social media companies don’t seem to be doing much to secure their servers and databases. 24% of leaked data came from retail websites, which is far lower than social media thereby indicating that these platforms have played an unfortunate role in the rise of cybercrime and the loss of login details among various users across the internet spectrum.

Another thing that makes social media such a hotbed for cybercrime is how easy it is to impersonate others. Scammers often impersonate business professionals because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making their scams seem more legitimate. This can led to phishing attacks particularly on sites like LinkedIn where people frequently click on links and fill out forms that were given to them by potential employers.

Oversharing on social media also makes it easier for malicious actors to glean personal information that can help them breach accounts. Consumers must be educated on the threat that social media sites pose so that they can start using them more safely.

Read next: New research indicates that more than half of employees don’t know about cybersecurity risks