Hacker software social robot successfully steals Facebook massive user data

Absrtact: November 8, according to foreign media reports, four researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, developed the hacker Software Social Robot (socialbots), successfully stealing Facebook's massive user data. In traditional zombie networks, hackers use a sense of virus

November 8, according to foreign media reports, four researchers at British Columbia University in Vancouver, Canada, developed the hacker software "social Robot (Socialbots)", the successful theft of Facebook massive user data.

In traditional botnets, hackers use viruses to infect computers for remote control, steal data from victims ' computers, or use infected computers to send spam messages to implement more attacks. The "social robot" completely simulates the real-life Facebook user, automatically sets the user name and Avatar, and sends a random friend application.

Researchers used 102 social robots to experiment with "master robots" to send commands to other robots. The robot sent 25 friend applications a day for more than 8 weeks, and the robot sent a total of friends to 8,570 Facebook accounts, and 3,055 users accepted the application. The researchers found that Facebook users with a good number of friends were more likely to accept fake friend applications.

At the end of the experiment, the researchers said they had stolen 46,500 e-mail addresses and 14,500 home addresses.

The experimental report will be published at the annual Conference on computer security applications in Florida next month (annual Computer Applications Conference). "As social robots infiltrate social networks, they can steal more data, including e-mail addresses, phone numbers and other personal information," the study said. ”

"Social robots" are increasingly being used by criminals to mass spam messages. Sell at least 29 dollars online.

Facebook responded that the experiment was not practical, that the IP address used for the experiment was from a secure university, and that the IP addresses used by hackers were alarming. And most fake accounts have been sealed.

A Facebook spokeswoman said, "We have large systems that detect fake accounts and block the theft of information, and constantly update systems, improve results, and constantly address new attacks." ”

But the researchers estimate that the success rate of real cyber attacks is 80%. Social media security systems such as Facebook are not enough to detect and prevent massive viral intrusions. A massive hacking attack on social networking sites is just one of the future cyber threats, and providing secure social networking sites for millions of of active users is a priority.