Facebook management are correct in their policy of not vetting applications and letting the wisdom of crowds become the security of crowds. The best security countermeasure is a lot of eyeballs and 3 people tackling a terrorist in an airplane is the cheapest and most effective anti-terrorism measure.
Fifteen years ago when I worked at Intel as site telecom manager, Andy Groove sent an email to the employees telling us that he expected email to be the next killer application. I wrote back to Andy that I thought that email is like a phone – so if you think a phone is a killer app then I guess email is a killer app too.
Over time I’ve seen statistics claiming that email usage is going down per capita taking a backseat to mobile phones – when you break it down by age groups. Mow Nielson Online is saying that the number 1 online app is social networking, which explains why Facebook and other social networking sites are a fertile ground for security exploits and phishing.
I read last week that Facebook has been the victim of five different security problems in one week,
According to Trend Micro, four hoax applications became available on Facebook plus a new variation of Koobface virus, whichdirects users to a fake YouTube page where they are encouraged to install malware.
Two of the hoax applications that have been downloaded by Facebook users include ‘F a c e b o o k – closing down!!!’ and ‘Error Check System’. By downloading the app, users give hackers access to their profile and personal information, which sends fake messages to their friends, inviting them to download the programs.
I personally think that you have to be a moron to download everything you see in your Facebook.