Social Network Sites (a.k.a Social Networking) – sometimes referred to as “friend-of-a-friend” sites, build upon the concept of traditional social networks where you are connected to new people through people you already know. The purpose of the social networking may be purely social, allowing users to establish friendships o romantic relationships, while other may focus on establishing business connections.

Although the features of social networking sites differ, they allow you to provide information about yourself and offer some type of communication mechanism (e-mail, instant messenger, chat rooms, and forums) that enables you to connect with other users. Popular sites would include MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster.

Security Implications do these sites represent:
Social networking sites rely on communications and connections, which require you to provide a certain amount of personal information. However, people may not exercise the same amount of caution when meeting someone online because of the following:

• The lack of physical interaction provides a false sense of security
• The internet provides a sense of anonymity
• They tailor to information for their friends to read, forgetting that others may see it
• They want to offer insights to impress potential friends or associates

While the majority of people using these sites do not pose a threat, malicious people may be drawn to them because of the accessibility and amount of personal information available on them. The more information malicious people have about you, the easier it is for them to take advantage of you. Suspicious individuals may form relationships online and then convince unsuspecting individuals to meet them in person. That could lead to a dangerous situation.

The personal information can be used to conduct a social engineering attack, such as Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks. Using information that you provide about your location, interests, friends, and hobbies, a malicious person could impersonate a trusted friend or convince you that they have the authority to access other personal or financial information.

Protect Yourself by Socializing Safely Online:

• It’s the user’s responsibility on how they wish to be perceived
• Protect Privacy: Don’t share personal or financial information
• Post only information that is appropriate for the entire public
• Posting inappropriate photos can damage your professional careers
• Be aware that your profile can be seen in some way, regardless of your private or public settings
• Once information is posted online and deleted or modified, the original will never be completely deleted
• Do not use University resources for credit card transactions