94% of Internet users befriend unknown 'good-looking woman'

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 31, 2010

Sensitiva data shared after two-hour chat.

Research from BitDefender has shown that the vast majority of users of social network sites are willing to befriend an unknown, 21-year-old, fair-haired woman; many of them even shared sensitive data that could be used to steal passwords.

The researchers created the fake profile on a popular social networking site and sent a friendship request to 2,000 people (as many males as females). A small number of people accepted the request immediately, but after some persuasion, a staggering 94% of people ultimately befriended the unknown face. Among the reasons for doing so were that the woman had 'a lovely face' (53%), or that she worked in the same industry (24%). 17% of people even claimed that she had a known face, but 'couldn't remember the place they met'.

Perhaps even more surprising was that 86% of those who accepted the friendship request were working in IT; 31% even in IT security, an industry that has been stressing the risks of using social networking sites for many years.

The researchers continued their study posing as the fair-haired woman and had a two-hour written conversation with a small sample of their 'victims'. During this conversation, most victims revealed information such as their address, phone numbers or the names of their parents and pets; information that can be used to change passwords and steal identities. Many users also revealed sensitive business information.

The full report can be found here (PDF), with comments from Help Net Security here.

Posted on 31 August 2010 by Virus Bulletin

twitter.png
fb.png
linkedin.png
hackernews.png
reddit.png

 

Latest posts:

VBSpam tests to be executed under the AMTSO framework

VB is excited to announce that, starting from the Q3 test, all VBSpam tests of email security products will be executed under the AMTSO framework.

In memoriam: Prof. Ross Anderson

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of Professor Ross Anderson a few days ago.

In memoriam: Dr Alan Solomon

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of industry pioneer Dr Alan Solomon earlier this week.

New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.

New paper: Collector-stealer: a Russian origin credential and information extractor

In a new paper, F5 researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Chaturvedi present a 360 analysis of Collector-stealer, a Russian-origin credential and information extractor.

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.