What is social media account takeover?
Unauthorized access to users’ social media accounts, such as on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and others, using devious methods like phishing, using consumers’ stolen personal information, exploiting weak or stolen passwords, or exploiting security vulnerabilities is called social media account takeover.
The compromised accounts then serve as a launchpad for multiple types of malicious activities, such as illegal fund transfer requests, spreading misinformation, scamming social media followers, or tarnishing the account owner's reputation.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Snapchat Identifies Critical Risk & Shows Direct Savings with AWS & Arkose Labs
How social media account takeover (ATO) works
The first step to a social media account takeover is usually the attacker accessing users’ login credentials either through phishing, hacking, data breach, or dark web. The attacker then tries to access target accounts using these harvested credentials.
Alternatively, the attacker may try to exploit security vulnerabilities in the social media platform itself to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. On obtaining the valid credentials or access, the attacker can take control of the account and change the password or security settings to lock out the legitimate account owner.
Once under their control, the compromised social media accounts can be exploited for a variety of purposes, such as for phishing or to spread spam, malicious content or misinformation. In some cases, the attacker may impersonate the account owner to deceive followers into transferring funds or providing sensitive personal or financial information. By spreading misinformation, the attacker can cause reputational damage to the legitimate owner.
Role of bots in social media account takeover
In recent times, bots have come to play a crucial role in social media account takeovers. Attackers can program bots to perform specific tasks such as looking out for vulnerable social media accounts or weak security settings. Bots can then systematically use techniques like brute force attacks or credential stuffing with valid username-password combinations to compromise vulnerable accounts.
Because bots can automate the attacks, they can spread phishing links or malicious content quickly across social media platforms, amplifying the reach of the attack. Furthermore, bots can mimic legitimate user behavior not only to artificially inflate the number of followers or engage in activities like liking, following or sharing content, but also to fool social media managers and evade detection.
By facilitating large-scale attacks in no time and with the least possible investment, bots aid attackers attempting social media account takeovers while diluting fraud prevention efforts.
Consequences of successful social media ATOs
Social media account takeover can have severe and long-standing impact. For instance, due to unauthorized posts or activities, the legitimate account owner may suffer reputational damage. As a result, social media followers may lose trust, which may include damage to professional relationships or job prospects.
When attackers successfully take over social media accounts, they can access sensitive information, such as private messages or personal data, that can be sold to third parties or on the dark web, exposing compromised users to further threats.
Techniques used in social media account takeover
Attackers use several techniques for social media ATO. These may include luring users into revealing their login credentials, hacking or exploiting security vulnerabilities in social media platforms.
Common methods employed by fraudsters
The most common method fraudsters employ to execute social media account takeovers is phishing. Scammers use deceptive emails or messages to deceive users into visiting fake websites and sharing personal, financial or account information. Another common technique is social engineering, where fraudsters impersonate trusted entities that users often interact with to manipulate them into divulging sensitive information or resetting passwords.
Fraudsters also exploit weaknesses in password security, as a number of account holders use weak or easily guessable passwords or reuse passwords across multiple digital accounts. Attackers use automated tools to test stolen credentials, accessed from data breaches, against social media accounts and gain unauthorized entry to social media accounts where passwords are not updated.
Emerging trends in social media account takeover techniques
As far as trends in social media account takeover techniques are concerned, attackers rely on advancements in technology and evolving user behaviors. One notable trend is the use of AI-powered bots to generate convincing messages according to the target and executing sophisticated and complex phishing attacks with potentially higher success rate. Attackers are also relying heavily on social engineering tactics based on topical issues, such as special events, societal trends or psychological triggers, to trick users into sharing their credentials or doing actions they wouldn’t normally do.
Attackers are also spending time to gain information about the new features and functionalities introduced on social media platforms. This allows them to adapt their strategies to exploit these changes. For instance, the rising integration of social media platforms with third-party apps and services has provided attackers with new attack vectors, such as rogue app permissions granting access to users' accounts. Influencers are an attractive target audience for attackers, as it provides them with a great way to exploit a wider audience for financial gain or to spread misinformation.
Recognizing social media ATO red flags
Recognizing red flags indicative of account takeover (ATO) attempts can go a long way in enabling social media platforms to prevent unauthorized access, mitigate damage, and maintain user trust.
Warning signs for social media platforms
Some warning signals indicative of a potential ATO include a sudden increase in reports of compromised accounts or unusual activity patterns, such as a spike in failed login attempts, and spammy content or messages. Suspicious user behavior, such as login attempts from multiple locations within a short period, unexpected changes in user engagement metrics, a sudden decline in user activity, or unexplained increase in account deletions, are other red flags of a potential social media account takeover attempt.
Warning signs for consumers
Consumers should watch out for unexpected password reset emails or notifications of login attempts from unfamiliar locations. They must also beware of unexplained changes to account settings, including profile pictures, usernames, linked email addresses, posts that they did not post, or messages they never sent. Customers must be wary of phishing attempts in the form of communication from the social media platform informing them about suspicious activity and urging them to take some prompt action, such as limited time offers or special events.
How to prevent social media account takeover
Implementing strong authentication measures and training users on good digital habits can help social media platforms prevent attacks.
Enhancing security measures
Social media platforms can focus on improving the cybersecurity measures by investing in advanced authentication methods, such as biometrics. This will add an extra layer of protection beyond traditional passwords. Robust monitoring systems can help social media platforms proactively detect and respond to suspicious activities, thereby mitigating the risk of unauthorized access and potential damage.
Ensuring continuous monitoring
Social media platforms must prioritize continuous monitoring to spot anomalous user behavior and take appropriate countermeasures before an incident can take place. By regularly reviewing account activity logs, platforms can help identify abnormal login activity, unfamiliar locations or sudden changes in behavior. Social media platforms should consider using smart bot management solutions to detect non-human traffic, to prevent automated account takeover attempts. Furthermore, social media platforms must incorporate technology-driven security solutions that can trigger real-time alerts and notifications to improve proactive monitoring efforts and respond promptly to emerging security threats.
Customer Education
Conducting awareness campaigns and educating users about the importance of using strong, unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication whenever possible, and being cautious of suspicious links, emails or text messages can enable them to detect and stop account takeover attempts.
Want to know more about how to stop account takeover and other cyber attacks on your social media platform? Visit our social media and streaming solution brief.
