How Social Media Jeopardizes data security?

India's millions of active Facebook and other social media users could be at a greater risk of user
data breach and of giving away more information about themselves on social platforms
compared to users in other markets due to weak rules and careless approach.

Lax rules and regulations for app developers and owners, which do not require them to seek
explicit permissions from users compared to other markets like Europe before downloading apps,
rampant proliferation of the Android platforms, which enables apps to seek out a lot more
information, and the unique social media habits of Indians are all factors that put them at a
greater risk

The unique social media habits of Indians add to the risks. “Companies like Cambridge
Analytica will have a field day in India as opposed to other markets as in the western world they
need to create a footprint but in India they don’t need to. Over 90% of the messages, status
updates, photographs and wishes posted in India by users are in the public domain,” Krishnan
said.

Concerns are mounting globally over how much data Facebook has on users in the aftermath of
the Cambridge Analytica will have a field day in India as opposed to other markets as in the
western world they need to create a footprint but in India they don’t need to. Over 90% of the
messages, status updates, photographs and wishes posted in India by users are in the public
domain,” Krishnan said.

"Because of its inherent open source nature, Android has more vulnerabilities as compared to
iOS, which is a closed operating system,” said Tarun Pathak, associate director at Hong Kong-
based Counterpoint Research. “And due to its vast size — in terms of number of users, especially
in markets like India — it is also a target for security related issues,” he said.

“It is a practice among Android apps/mobile companies to have access to this data so that they
can build profiles around you including your shopping preferences, spending patterns, etc. to
direct ads and sell products,” he said. “The iOS operating system does not allow call history and
SMS details to most apps. Facebook, just like other Android apps, might get more personal
information on the Android platform. Facebook is also used to access other apps platforms and
users have the option to disable certain information but people don't usually notice,” Narendran
said.
The absence of a data protection law in India to seek legal recourse makes matters worse, said
Narendran. India is taking the first steps towards data protection and addressing security flaws. A
committee under former Justice BN Srikrishna, which has been tasked with drafting the crucial
legislation and framing data protection rules, has kicked off the public consultation process in
January.

“If there is a data breach in India, users don’t have a recourse whereas in other markets these
companies are susceptible to fines which could go up to a certain percentage of their annual
turnover,” he said. “It is a huge liability for them, so they take data more seriously in other
markets than in India. Even countries like Singapore, Brazil and Hong Kong have data protection
laws, but we don’t," he added.

The Cambridge Analytica breach led to an avalanche of further privacy scandals at Facebook,
and landed CEO Mark Zuckerberg before a congressional panel earlier this month, where the
House Energy and Commerce Committee took him to task on his company’s data collection and
censorship practices.

Data contained in the leak included names, physical addresses, dates of birth, scraped LinkedIn
job histories, public Facebook data, and Twitter handles. Somebody with access to this data
could theoretically use it to commit fraud, identity theft, or to aid in a social engineering scam
like phishing.

The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal involves the collection of personally

identifiable information of 87 million Facebook users[1] and reportedly a much greater number
more that Cambridge Analytica began collecting in 2014. The data was allegedly used to attempt
to influence voter opinion on behalf of politicians who hired them. Following the discovery,
Facebook apologized amid public outcry and fallen stock prices. The way that Cambridge
Analytica collected the data was called "inappropriate".

According to the Associated Press, a company run by former officials at Cambridge Analytica,
Data Propria, has been quietly been working for President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election
effort.

The European Union (EU) has taken the lead in amending its existing data protection laws
through the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that comes into
effect from 25 May, 2018. GDPR will strengthen data protection measures of enterprises and
empower them and their customers, if followed in the right word and spirit. Businesses
operating in other regions too will do well to adopt the GDPR standards as data protection
increasingly becomes a worry.
Protecting Yourself on Social Media
There are plenty of effective ways to protect your personal information when using social
media such as using unique, secure passwords and taking advantage of two-factor
authentication when possible so that other people can’t log in even if they do get hold of your
password.

It’s also a good idea to not “friend” people who you don’t know on personal social networks and
even if you use social media for business, you should be a bit selective. Also, if you know you’re
already a friend with someone and you get another request, it could be a fake account, so check
with your friend or family member to make sure it’s really them asking to connect.

Many social media users don’t read privacy policies on social media sites like Facebook or
Twitter—but you should study up on what data is shared, when it is shared and where or with
whom it’s shared (that goes for any site on which you have an online account, too).

Questions:

1. What do you know about Data Breach in Social Media Platforms?

2. Comment on Cambridge Analytica-Facebook controversy.
3. What is GDPR?
4. What are the vunerlabities associated with iOS and Android?
5. How can you save yourself from this data breach in Social Media Platforms