Social media account takeover has exploded over the past year. Picnic’s own CEO Matt Polak weighed in on the social engineering dangers associated with this.
Popularity Breeds Hackers
An account owner isn’t the only victim of an account hijacking, noted Matt Polak CEO and founder of the Picnic Corporation, a social engineering protection company, in Washington, D.C.
“By impersonating the actual owner of the account, a bad actor can create posts or send private messages that fool contacts into doing something they would not otherwise do, such as clicking on a malicious link, handing over credit card information or their credentials — which can lead to further account compromise — or depositing money into the attacker’s account,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“So social media account takeover can be not only be harmful to the person whose identity is being impersonated, but also to those who are targeted by the criminal using the account,” he added.