Facebook and Twitter users should get ready for spikes of spam — like the surge that disrupted Twitter earlier today — to become a recurring experience.
The more new features Facebook and Twitter add, the more spammers can be expected to search out fresh security holes — and exploit them until technicians respond, cybersecurity experts say.
That’s what happened today when spammers pounced all over a newly discovered flaw in Twitter’s MouseOver feature, which creates an event when the mouse is passed over a chunk of text. And that’s what happen on Sept. 7, when spammers leapt at the opportunity presented by the discovery of a fresh Facebook flaw that allowed them to spread a spamming worm on users’ walls.
In both spam campaigns, gangs specializing in survey spam were a major force. These are the guys who earn $1 a pop for each advertising-backed survey they get users to fill out. One such spamming group recently tracked by F-Secure threat analyst Sean Sullivan earned $485,188 for one days worth of spamming out such surveys.
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