August 2010
BitDefender Finds IT Security Employees Likely to Disclose Sensitive Information on Social Networks
Study reveals that 81 percent of a large social network▓s users would accept the friendship request of and confide in a test profile created for the study without taking many precautions
BitDefender®, an award-winning provider of innovative internet security solutions, today warned social networking devotees to be careful when accepting friend requests and to be conscious of the data they share.
According to a new study conducted by BitDefender over a two week period, social network users do not appear to be preoccupied with the real identity of the people they meet online or about the details they disclose while chatting with total strangers. The study revealed that 94 percent of those asked to “friend” the test profile, an unknown, attractive young woman, accepted the request without knowing who the requester really was.
The study sample group included 2,000 users from all over the world registered on one of the most popular social networks. These users were randomly chosen in order to cover different aspects: sex (1,000 females, 1,000 males), age (the sample ranged from 17 to 65 years with a mean age of 27.3 years), professional affiliation, interests etc. In the first step, the users were only requested to add the unknown test profile as their friend, while in the second step several conversations with randomly selected users aimed to determine what kind of details they would disclose.
The study showed:
- More than 86 percent of the users who accepted the test-profile’s friend request work in the IT industry, of which 31 percent work in IT Security
- The most frequent reason for accepting the test profile’s friend request was her “lovely face” (53 percent)
- After a half an hour conversation, 10 percent disclosed personal sensitive information, such as: address, phone number, mother’s and father’s name, etc – information usually requested as answers to password recovery questions
- Two hours later, 73 percent siphoned what appears to be confidential information from their workplace, such as future strategies, plans, as well as unreleased technologies/software
More details about this study are available here, in addition to the blog post on MalwareCity.com.
No private information from this study will be disclosed or used against the persons that revealed it. No company confidential information will be disclosed or used for personal purposes. The content of the information has not been collected.
About Bitdefender®
Bitdefender is the creator of one of the world's fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified internet security software. The company is an industry pioneer, introducing and developing award-winning protection since 2001. Today, Bitdefender technology secures the digital experience of around 400 million home and corporate users across the globe.
Recently, Bitdefender won a series of important awards and accolades in the global security industry, including "Product of the Year" by AV-Comparatives, "Best Repair 2012" by AV-Test, "Editor's Choice" and "The Best Antivirus for 2013" by PC Mag, that confirmed the antivirus software’s leadership status among security products.
More information about Bitdefender's products is available from the company's security press room. Additionally, Bitdefender publishes the HOTforSecurity blog, where readers can find stories from the underworld of internet fraud, scams, malicious software - and gossip.