This is the archived SXSW 2012 schedule. Please see the current schedule here.

The Dark Side of Social Networks: Malware & Fraud

#sxsw #snwsec

The popularity of Twitter and Facebook make them attractive targets for attackers. The viral features and open APIs make it an efficient medium for attackers. In this talk, we discuss the scale and history of malicious activity on Twitter and Facebook. Based on a comprehensive research study, we demonstrate how attackers respond rapidly to the large increases of users driven by celebrity attention. We highlight popular attack techniques across trending topics, URL shorteners, fake accounts, photo tagging, and fake apps. We show how malware has been designed to steal social network credentials and use them to carry out automated attacks. In order to safeguard the future and usefulness of these platforms, the community and industry must combat these threats and control this malicious activity. We explore ways to safeguard individual users and brands. We also suggest approaches that social network providers should take to improve the security of their networks. This session is part of the Big Data Track sponsored by Gemalto.

Presenters

62938
Paul Judge Chief Research Officer Barracuda Networks

Dr. Paul Judge is a serial entrepreneur and noted scholar. He has founded several companies that grew and resulted in successful acquisitions. He currently serves as Chief Research Officer and Vice President at Barracuda Networks. Dr. Judge is best known for his work in Internet security including web, social networking and email. He was founder and CTO at Purewire and previously served as CTO of CipherTrust and Secure Computing. He is also Chairman of Pindrop Security. He heads Judge Ventures, an investment firm. Judge Ventures focuses on opportunities in making the Internet safe, useful, and entertaining. Dr. Judge has won many awards including InfoWorld Top 25 CTOs, Atlanta Power 30 under 30 and MIT Technology Review Magazine's 100 Top Innovators under 35. He is an inventor of about 30 patented and patent-pending computer security technologies. He earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.

Our Awesome 2012 Sponsors
Plat_sponsor0