Security company Panda Labs has discovered an online service that promises to hack into Facebook accounts for $100. They claim they will provide “clients” with login and password information to access any account on the social network. Do you feel like your information is secure on Facebook? Comment here.
“The service’s real purpose may be hacking Facebook accounts as they say, or profiting from those that want to try the service,” says PandaLabs Technical Director Luis Corrons. “In any case, the Web page is very well designed. It is easy to contract the service and become either the victim of an online fraud, or a cyber-criminal and accomplice in identity theft. Once an intruder hacks into a Facebook account, all personal data published on the site can be stolen.”
“Similarly, those accounts can also be used to send malware, spam or other threats to the victim’s contacts,” adds Corrons. “In the case of celebrities or other well-known entities, they can be used to defame the account holder, spread information in their name, etc. In any event, this is criminal activity.”
Panda Labs says that in addition to extorting money and obtaining access to clients’ bank account information, the service also has characteristics in line with hacker affiliate programs. Essentially, these offer money to other cyber criminals for spreading malware. This particular site offers extra dollar-credits to spend on the service when users hack more accounts. Users are told they can get 20% of what they sell in credits for hacking more accounts.
The domain that hosts the site is registered in Moscow. Panda Labs speculates that the cybercriminals behind the site are members of an Eastern European Internet Mafia. Payments are conducted through Western Union to the Ukraine. The site claims to have been around for four years, with only one percent of Facebook accounts deemed “hack-proof.”
Facebook recently announced some big milestones. They have almost as many users as there are residents in the United States, and the company is now making money. It’s unfortunate that security issues continue to plague the site (and social media in general), and impede its true potential. It’s still easy to find people that are not using Facebook, and simply don’t want to because they don’t like having their information out there for people to see. Things like this aren’t going to do anything to change their minds.
Do you know people that are resistant to social media because of privacy and security concerns? Tell us.
