Researchers with WebRoot discovered that 30% of people who use popular social networking sites (like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter) have been attacked by cyber-criminals through those same social networking sites. Despite this, two thirds of users do not restrict the amount of information they make public!

Popular attacks include the spreading of malicious software, identity theft and 'unauthorized password changes'. Mike Kronenberg, Chief Technology Officer of WebRoot's consumer division told Infosecurity Magazine that criminals typically use personal information to guess passwords and gain unauthorized access to accounts.

Once they have accessed accounts, the criminals use those hacked accounts to spread malicious software and compromise other accounts. Complicating matters is the fact that many people use the same password on all of their social networking profiles - if one is breached, all are vulnerable!