Social Networks - beware !

Stumbled upon pretty old article on social networks:
http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/09/11/ved-background-checks-on-social-networks/

Couple of interesting points from there:

* Another question raised is whether or not the profile would even be an accurate representation of the candidate. Morris said, “One can’t guarantee that the profile they are looking at even belongs to their applicant. I can create a Facebook profile on anyone and use their picture.”

* Our courts are already faced with making some big decisions, including one in this case in which a person sued a “friend” on their social networking site for posting an incriminating picture of him that allegedly cost him a promiment job on Wall Street when the company researched his name on the Internet. Although a reader did point out that this was intended to be a spoof, it still foreshadows what could happen (and will happen) if information culled from the Internet is misused.

* So if you are applying for a job and are concerned about a company judging you based on your slide-show of last night’s debauchery, it’s better to play it safe and keep your pictures private. Do not give your friends access to your unflattering photos, keep your profile private if necessary, and delete any explicit comments made on your “wall” - at least until companies realize that many of us don’t sit around at night sipping apple cider and reading a Bronte book by firelight.

...and here is some more:
http://crabbyolbastard.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/the-seven-deadliest-social-networking-hacks/

Here’s a look at the seven most lethal social networks hacks:

* 1) Impersonation and targeted personal attacks
* 2) Spam and bot infections
* 3) Weaponized OpenSocial and other social networking applications
* 4) Crossover of personal to professional online presence
* 5) XSS, CSRF attacks
* 6) Identity theft
* 7) Corporate espionage

I agree with author: "Gotta love the “social” engineering!" :)