Security News

Rice University researchers have discovered a more efficient way for social media companies to keep misinformation from spreading online using probabilistic filters trained with artificial intelligence. The new approach to scanning social media is outlined in a study presented by Rice computer scientist Anshumali Shrivastava and statistics graduate student Zhenwei Dai.

Increasingly, it isn't just people using that data to influence us, it's robots-unthinking algorithms on e-commerce sites, search engines and social media are continually categorizing our behavior to where it seems they can read our minds. The algorithms on those platforms are working behind the scenes, all the time.

This new malware was discovered by researchers at Dutch cyber-security company Sansec that focuses on defending e-commerce websites from digital skimming attacks. The payment skimmer malware pulls its sleight of hand trick with the help of a double payload structure where the source code of the skimmer script that steals customers' credit cards will be concealed in a social sharing icon loaded as an HTML 'svg' element with a 'path' element as a container.

A payment card-skimming malware that hides inside social-media buttons is making the rounds, compromising online stores as the holiday shopping season gets underway. Once ensconced on the page, the malware behaves just like the widespread Magecart group of skimmers, with the code being parsed and run by a shopper's PC in order to harvest payment cards and any other information entered into a site's online fields, he added.

Newly discovered web skimming malware is capable of hiding in plain sight to inject payment card skimmer scripts into compromised online stores. The malware's creators use malicious payloads concealed as social media buttons that mimic high profile platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Social media firms remained on high alert Tuesday against Election Day misinformation and manipulation efforts as polling places began closing in the US and focus turned to tallying ballots. "Our Election Operations Center will continue monitoring a range of issues in real time - including reports of voter suppression content," said a Facebook statement posted on Twitter.

Disinformation, or false information intended to mislead or deceive people, is commonly spread by social media users and bots - automated accounts controlled by software - with the intent to sow division among people, create confusion, and undermine confidence in the news surrounding major current events, such as the 2020 U.S. presidential election, COVID-19 and social justice movements. "Disinformation campaigns can spread like wildfire on social media and have a long-lasting impact, as people's opinions and actions may be influenced by the false or misleading information being circulated."

The world's biggest social media companies may have to put more of a priority on security now that a New York state financial watchdog is calling for the creation of a designated regulator tasked with monitoring their cyber defense. The New York State Department of Financial Services made the determination in a lengthy report on the Twitter hack in July after the Justice Department said two teenagers and a 22-year-old took over more than 100 prominent Twitter accounts, including the accounts of former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Two researchers at the Cisco Talos Intelligence Group examined misleading and incorrect posts on social media to understand why so many people share misinformation and help spread propaganda online. Disinformation is what criminals and foreign actors do: The intentional spreading of false information with the intent to deceive.

This data is then used to launch phishing attacks against even more people and organizations. So it's hardly surprising that phishing is now responsible for almost one-quarter of all data breaches.