London, Nov 3 (ANI): Internet researchers have demonstrated a new technique that is can easily be used by cyber criminals to steal personal information of Facebook users.
According to researchers, internet criminals can use 'socialbots', computer programs that mimic real Facebook profiles, to harvest vast quantities of personal data.
The researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver said 'Socialbots' are being offered for sale on the Internet for as little as 29 dollars, the BBC reports.
In a traditional botnet, network of computers are infected by a virus to allow a hi-tech criminal to use them remotely. Usually botnet controllers steal data from victims' computers or use the machines to send out spam or carry out other attacks.
What makes a socialbot different is that it is able to pass itself off as a real Facebook user.
The software takes over control of a social networking profile and performs basic activities such as posting messages and sending requests.
The group of four researchers conducted an experiment by creating 102 socialbots and one 'botmaster,' software that sent commands to the other bots.
They employed their socialbots over a period of eight weeks. In total the bots attempted to make friends with 8,570 Facebook users. 3,055 accepted the friendships.
The researchers found that the more friendships people had on Facebook, the more likely they were to accept the 'fake' friend.
They have also revealed that to prevent triggering Facebook's fraud detection software, the fake accounts only sent 25 requests per day. (ANI)
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