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- About Us & Project Introduction
- What Are "Cyber Security" and "Cyber Attack"?
- Why Does Cyber Security Matter?
- International and Local Cooperation on Cyber Attacks
- Simple Steps Towards Enhanced Cyber Security
- Educating the Public
- Video Reviews & Useful Resources
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements
Spamming Attacks
Sending out e-mail in bulk, it is so called "electronic junk mail". Thus the system can be vulnerable to overload. It is less destructive and is more likely be used for e-marketing purposes. As the name suggests, the key aspect of spamming attacks is repetition, be it sending out spam emails or links.
Recently, with the rise of the giant social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, hackers have turned their attention to social networks. By abusing the security loop holes in the sites, the hackers send out massive spamming attacks throughout the social networks.
Due to the huge population base of social networks, spamming attacks can easily spread, for example, from friend to friend (e.g. Facebook). Such spamming attacks direct the users to advertisement-embedded web pages where they earn about $1 per click. Such hackers are known as "clickjackers". They could easily earn a few thousand dollars per day from the spamming attacks and sometime hundreds of millions of dollars by the time the spamming attacks end.
Recently, with the rise of the giant social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, hackers have turned their attention to social networks. By abusing the security loop holes in the sites, the hackers send out massive spamming attacks throughout the social networks.
Due to the huge population base of social networks, spamming attacks can easily spread, for example, from friend to friend (e.g. Facebook). Such spamming attacks direct the users to advertisement-embedded web pages where they earn about $1 per click. Such hackers are known as "clickjackers". They could easily earn a few thousand dollars per day from the spamming attacks and sometime hundreds of millions of dollars by the time the spamming attacks end.
As shown in the picture above, hackers managed to redirect the Twitter page of the Sarah Brown, the wife of a former British Prime Minister, to a Japanese porn site by spamming attacks. A similar porn site spamming attack happened to Facebook users in November 2011.
In 2010, hackers used the security loop holes in Facebook's photo-uploading and status-sharing functions to spam tainted web addresses. Uses who clicked the links sent out the same tainted links to their friends, spreading spamming messages throughout Facebook.
Quick Reference
Acohido, B. (2010, September 27). Facebook, twitter see more spam attack. The USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-09-27-socialnetspam27_ST_N.htm
Estes, A. C. (2011, November 15). The dirty details of facebook’s porn attack. The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved from http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/11/dirty-details-facebooks-porn-attack/45029/
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In 2010, hackers used the security loop holes in Facebook's photo-uploading and status-sharing functions to spam tainted web addresses. Uses who clicked the links sent out the same tainted links to their friends, spreading spamming messages throughout Facebook.
Quick Reference
Acohido, B. (2010, September 27). Facebook, twitter see more spam attack. The USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-09-27-socialnetspam27_ST_N.htm
Estes, A. C. (2011, November 15). The dirty details of facebook’s porn attack. The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved from http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/11/dirty-details-facebooks-porn-attack/45029/
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