Popular Chinese Microblogging Site Hit by Worm Attack
Recently, popular microblogging site Sina Weibo suffered worm attack. The Chinese rival for Twitter has over 140 million users. The attack follows a recent decision by the owners of the site, Sina Corporation to launch an English version of the microblogging site targeted at the International market. Attackers reportedly exploited a cross-site scripting flaw to infect user accounts with worm. The worm spread through several user accounts through enticing messages and subject lines, including poetry lines, and offering software to listen to others phone lines. Unwary users, who clicked on the malicious links were inadvertently reposting and sending out messages to members of their friends list, and contributing to the propagation of the worm. Security researchers claim that the latest worm is similar to those that affected MySpace, Twitter and other Asian social media sites. Popular social networking site Facebook is always in the news for spam attacks. Security professionals were reportedly successful in containing the spread of malware.
Launched in 2009, Sina Weibo is immensely popular among the rapidly growing Internet users in China. While social media sites provide a convenient medium for Internet users to communicate interact and share, they have also evolved as a breeding ground for cybercriminals. Internet users share personal information, make comments and share photographs among others, which make them the hotspot for attackers, who exploit every opportunity to infect thousands of accounts with minimum effort.
The latest attack comes at a time, when Google disclosed plans to launch social networking site Google+. Social media sites must conduct regular scrutiny of their sites to identify weaknesses and security threats. Professionals qualified in secured programming, penetration testing and masters of security science may help social media sites in detecting and mitigating security flaws. Social media sites may also work with Internet security firms to identify possible threat vectors and introduce improved security features. Professionals must keep themselves abreast of latest developments in IT security through security certifications and online university degree programs and improve defenses against the growing menace of cybercrime.
Users of the social media sites must adjust the privacy settings to restrict information sharing with friends and relatives. Safe Internet security practices may help Internet users to continue benefitting from social media sites, which have revolutionized the way people communicate and stay in touch. Adherence to security alerts by Internet security firms, e-tutorials and online degree programs may help users in preventing compromise of their accounts and sensitive personal information. Many Chinese companies are also making use of Sina Weibo for business promotion purposes. They must create awareness among employees on precautions to be adhered while using social media sites.
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EC-Council University is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and offers Master of Security Science (MSS) degree to students from various backgrounds such as graduates, IT Professionals, and military students amongst several others. The MSS is offered as a 100% online degree program and allows EC-Council University to reach students from not only the United States, but from all around the world.
EC-Council is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce skills. It is the owner and developer of 16 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT). Its certificate programs are offered in over 60 countries around the world.
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