With 20% of the world’s population using social media, and that number is expected to increase rapidly over the next five years, the need for cyber security is becoming imperative. Social media networking websites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ enable users to communicate in a moment’s notice. However, this instantaneous communication also allows for the people who want to attack/harm others to get their message to a much bigger audience in even quicker time.
For example, take the hacktivist group “Anonymous.” When they launch a DDoS attack on a government agency they can secretly plan and grow the attack without being noticed. They can create hundreds of fake accounts and communicate using them and they can go unnoticed. Once they launch these attacks it’s too late unless the agency has something in place to protect them.
Most government agencies say they have something in place to protect them or that their provider has something to protect them from DDoS, but is it strong enough? Agencies need to track and become aware of the full ability of social media and prepare for it by upgrading their cyber security. The actual problem with social media is not necessarily the information but the amount of information available, and trying to determine what is an actual threat. Cyber security and social media are tied together, as social media user ship continues to increase, so will the number of cyber security threats.