Aaron+Templeman+Blog+Post+Analysis

Templeman A

TO: Proximity Social Networking FROM: Aaron Templeman SUBJECT:Potential Affects of Attacks on Social Networks DATE: February 1, 2010

We were asked to send a memo to our team commenting on a blog or news post that might help develop questions for the team's focus group. Below is my summary of Palmer's //Financial Times// article "Attacks on Social Networking Sites Up 70%". I suggest we include questions in the spring focus group to see if attacks on social networking could affect the decisions of the users.


 * The extent social networks have been attacked**

Users of social networks have seen a 70% increase in spam and hackers over the past year. Of the users, 57% say they have received spam and 36% have received malware from social networks, around a 70% increase from last year. Even President Barack Obama and Britney Spears had their Twitter accounts hijacked.

Despite the increase in attacks, social networks are growing at a faster rate than the attacks:

Kaspersky Lab estimates that malware spreads 10 times more effectively through social networks than through email. They credit this difference to user's guards being down more for social networks than for emails.
 * Facebook grew by 600%
 * Twitter by 2,800% last year.


 * Why the attacks are important**

Proximity clients who plan to market to Gen Y through social networks should be aware of the threat and increase of attacks on social networks. They stand to lose if they have invested heavily in social networks and users declines because of attacks.


 * Questions To Ask Focus Group**

To find out if attacks on social networks discourage people from using them, we should ask the following questions: Proximity clients need answers to these questions in order to estimate if social networking attacks could affect Gen Y's use of social networks.
 * have you had any type of attack (spam, malware, etc.) through a social network?
 * has it deterred you from using that social network?
 * are you less inclined to use social networks because of the possibility of an attack?

__Reference__

Palmer, M. (2010, January 31). Attacks on social networking sites up 70%. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23a87080-0e86-11df-bd79-00144feabdc0.html

= =