Social Media Risk
Social Media Monitoring
In the context of cybersecurity, social media plays a dual role:
- Opportunity: It’s an extremely valuable tool for intelligence gathering (OSINT).
- Risk: It can also be used for phishing attacks, impersonation, and to leak sensitive data.
Social media monitoring is the practice of analyzing information publicly shared on social media.
The goal is to identify threats, like data breaches, planned attacks, and leaked company files.
Early detection allows security teams to respond to emerging risks before they’re exploited.
Social Media as a Source of Cyber Threat Intelligence
Cybercriminals use social media platforms to communicate, coordinate activities, and even brag about their exploits.
As such, social media has become an extremely valuable source of cyber threat intelligence (CTI).
It provides insights into potential threats as well as Indicators of Compromise (IoCs).
Security analysts can leverage social media to:
- Identify vulnerabilities currently being exploited.
- Understand the tools, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors.
- Gain insights into emerging threats, targeted industries, and campaigns.
Additionally, users often report cybersecurity incidents on social media before organizations issue official announcements.
By monitoring these reports, security teams can receive early warnings of attacks or actively exploited vulnerabilities.
The sooner an incident is identified, the quicker an organization can mitigate its impact.
Social Media as a Vector for Threats
In addition to being a great source of intel, social media is also leveraged to deliver attacks. Here are some common techniques used:
- Phishing and Social Engineering: Attackers create fake profiles or hijack existing ones to trick users into revealing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.
- Malware Distribution: Cybercriminals use social media to spread malware through links, attachments, or compromised accounts.
- Data Leakage: Employees might accidently share sensitive information, including login credentials, on social media. This can be leveraged by attackers for reconnaissance or targeted attacks.
- Brand Impersonation: Threat actors create fake accounts impersonating an organization to trick customers and employees. This is often part of a phishing attack.
Best Practices for Leveraging Social Media in CTI
Here are some best practices for getting the most out of social media:
- Continuous Monitoring: Establish dedicated teams or use automated tools to continuously monitor social media platforms for breached data and other potential risks.
- Validate and Correlate: Cross-check information from social networks with other threat intel sources. This helps validate the accuracy and relevance of the information.
- Awareness and Training: Establish a social media policy. Educate employees about the risks associated with social media usage.
- Incident Response Integration: Integrate social media monitoring into the organization’s incident response plan. This helps security teams detect and mitigate threats before they’re exploited.