Connecting with people you don't know on LinkedIn? According to the Intel Security research if you connect with unknown people, this may help hackers to steal your company data.
Research done by Intel Security revealed that Brits allow hackers to harvest the information whom people do not know.
Respondents of Intel's survey said they accept "I'd like to connect with you on LinkedIn" requests from people they do not know.
"When a person in a similar industry to us, or a recruiter, requests to connect on LinkedIn, it may look harmless, but hackers prey on this as a means to target senior level professionals and ultimately the corporate network," said Raj Samani, CTO of EMEA at Intel Security.
"Social networking sites are a treasure trove of data used by malicious actors in order to research potential targets for attacks, not only requesting to connect with senior executives but as many junior or mid-level employees at a company as possible," said Samani.
"They then target senior level execs, using their existing connections with colleagues as proof of credibility by leveraging the principle of social validation," he added. "Once these connections are in place they can launch a targeted phishing campaign."
According to the FBI such attacks are on the rise, saying criminals send fake invoices, request wire transfers and so on using accurate looking but false emails.
Most respondents to the survey said their employer hadn't "made them aware" of any corporate policies around social media.
“Businesses must educate all members of staff on how to avoid common scams, including making them aware of the risks of opening unknown attachments in messages or clicking on unknown links,” said Samani.
Research done by Intel Security revealed that Brits allow hackers to harvest the information whom people do not know.
Respondents of Intel's survey said they accept "I'd like to connect with you on LinkedIn" requests from people they do not know.
"When a person in a similar industry to us, or a recruiter, requests to connect on LinkedIn, it may look harmless, but hackers prey on this as a means to target senior level professionals and ultimately the corporate network," said Raj Samani, CTO of EMEA at Intel Security.
"Social networking sites are a treasure trove of data used by malicious actors in order to research potential targets for attacks, not only requesting to connect with senior executives but as many junior or mid-level employees at a company as possible," said Samani.
"They then target senior level execs, using their existing connections with colleagues as proof of credibility by leveraging the principle of social validation," he added. "Once these connections are in place they can launch a targeted phishing campaign."
According to the FBI such attacks are on the rise, saying criminals send fake invoices, request wire transfers and so on using accurate looking but false emails.
Most respondents to the survey said their employer hadn't "made them aware" of any corporate policies around social media.
“Businesses must educate all members of staff on how to avoid common scams, including making them aware of the risks of opening unknown attachments in messages or clicking on unknown links,” said Samani.