Hackers have gotten more subtle in their techniques of getting the information they need to get into and hack another organization or individual’s web account. A link is inserted into an existing website, a post on Facebook or a tweet on Twitter. The link redirects the victim from the site he intended to visit and sends him to a site that has several malware infected links that open up the victim’s computer to infestation. Some of these are pictures or videos promising the hot new model in a bikini or the nude actress on a beach. Some of these malware ‘viruses’ then end up being spread to others when they reproduce themselves and send a link to each contact in the victim’s email list.
Facebook is among those large companies that have been the victim of a cyber-attack. Twitter, BBC, CBS, The New York Times and more have also experienced attacks in these last few months. Apparently, a few Facebook employees visited the website of a mobile developer that had been compromised. The previous attacks were orchestrated by the SEA, or Syrian Electronic Army which is a Pro-Assad group intent on attacking any organization or news outlet that they feel takes the side of anti-government forces in Syria. The attack on Facebook originated from China, a hotbed of spammers and scammers.
Although government officials in China deny that the attacks, the source of the attack was traced to a specific building in Shanghai. The attackers in China appear to target those news organizations and websites that are critical in their coverage of China. Since Facebook permits users to post and share articles that then end up being seen in their country, it was a prime target. Facebook assures their users that no evidence of user data had been compromised. There are a lot of things that officials did just to make things confidential and just to assure that no one breaches user’s personal information.
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