LinkedIn released some new security updates in an effort to combat fraud and bot accounts across the professional social media platform. LinkedIn is the most impersonated brand in phishing attacks by a considerable margin at 45% of impersonated attacks, with Microsoft as a distant second at 13%. Phishing on LinkedIn Messenger has also increased in popularity among criminals. Most phishing messages quickly ask users to take the conversation off LinkedIn and then attempt to steal money, information, or install spyware on the victim’s device.
LinkedIn also has a bot problem. The site started purging accounts early in October, and the move attracted attention online. Users who reported working for Amazon went from 1.2 million to 800,000, and users working for Apple went from 570,000 to 280,000 over the same 24-hour period. Cybersecurity professionals speculate that bot networks could generate broader attacks by connecting to industry professionals and scraping their public information.
LinkedIn introduced three security tools to help their professional community identify fraud and eliminate bots. The first tool is “About this profile,” which shows if the user has verified their phone number and work email address. The menu also indicates when the user joined the site, updated contact information, and profile photo. The move should help users identify fake accounts and make it more difficult for criminals to maintain multiple profiles.
Image from LinkedIn
The second tool LinkedIn identified is a photo scanner designed to flag AI-generated profile photos. Criminals are not just creating individual fake accounts to scrape the platform. To construct the droves of fake accounts needed, they are using AI-generated images as profile pictures.
The third tool is a messenger tool that alerts users and blocks the message when the potential criminal tries to move the conversation off the LinkedIn platform.
Image from LinkedIn
Example of new chat tool from LinkedIn shown above. The new tools aim to protect and educate users of the tactics used by criminals on the social media platform.
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