LinkedIn is a great communication tool for business professionals that informs, provides opportunities, and fosters collaboration — which is exactly why it is attractive to sophisticated cyber adversaries, including aggressive nation state actors, who use LinkedIn for nefarious activities such as information gathering, target profiling, human-asset engagement, fraud, social engineering, and trust building.
Urgent and time sensitive messages, especially regarding career opportunities, target cognitive vulnerabilities and are leveraged by attackers to manipulate victims.
Use the tool, but know the dangers and take necessary precautions.
- Don’t share your clearance level or indicators of wealth — this makes you a preferred target
- Don’t share details of confidential work activities, such as project details, coworkers, or plans
- Keep it professional and don’t expose private personal information about yourself, family, or others (ex. wishing someone a happy 25th birthday — gives a fraudster that person’s birthdate!)
- Expect to be contacted by fraudsters and people with malicious intent
- Don’t assign credibility, without verification, to what someone lists on their profile or in in their posts
- Understand there will be some level of fake accounts, impersonations, fictitious company listings, phony job postings, and news misinformation
- Be careful with Direct Messaging (DM), as it can be employed for spam, phishing, distributing dangerous attachments, and sending links to malicious sites
Use critical thinking and common sense — don’t be an easy victim or useful idiot.
Stay updated on cybersecurity trends and risk patterns. If unsure about a situation, ask cybersecurity professionals (we live for this stuff and are also on LinkedIn)!
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