TULSA — In recent months, multiple cybersecurity companies and other technology sources have reported a spike in attacks targeting LinkedIn users’ accounts.
This surge is of interest because of its magnitude and the lack of a clear explanation for it.
Aaron Rose is Chief Technology Officer and Security Architect Manager. Checkpoint Software Technology.
He told KRMG that the most obvious reason for the attack was simply the value of the data on the “dark web” (an online version of the black market).
This spike does not appear to be due to any specific vulnerability in the LinkedIn platform.
“Usually when we say ‘vulnerability’ we mean there’s a bug in the code. And so far, our researchers, the industry at large, and even Linked In, have not really shown that there are any vulnerabilities in the software or the platform. But in some ways, the real vulnerability actually lies with the human user. ”
Of course, weak passwords and poor password security have long been a problem across all social media, and indeed all computer systems in general.
But attacks are becoming more sophisticated, data is becoming more and more valuable, and new factors are now being added to the equation. It’s artificial intelligence (AI), which Rose believes may be contributing to the surge in attacks.
“One of the potential reasons that we can all think about is something like the rise of artificial intelligence, or the availability of artificial intelligence to the masses. Things like ChatGPT have been in the news the last few times. It’s been highly publicized. Even if these tools are meant for good, they can be used by bad actors.”
For example, large-scale language models can be used to collect large amounts of data about individuals in order to create targeted attacks against them.
However, it’s not all bad news.
In part 2 of this report, KRMG shares some of the tools users can use to combat hackers.