IT security and data protection firm Sophos is calling upon
users of the new Ping musical social network, created by Apple and
built into the new version of iTunes, to be on their guard against
scammers and spammers who have deluged the system with fraudulent
messages.
Ping, which was only launched this week, is a cross-between
Facebook and Twitter, giving over 160 million iTunes users the
ability to build networks of friends and musicians, and read
comments by other fans.
However, Sophos researchers have found that Ping is being
over-run by scams and spam messages, some of which try and direct
users into believing they will receive a free iPhone if they
complete online surveys.
"We're used to survey scams like this being spread far and wide
via sites like Facebook, but clearly the lack of filtering on Ping
is making it a brand new playground for the bad guys to operate
in," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "It's ironic
that the most common scams on Ping right now revolve around Apple's
own iPhone. It's safe to assume that Ping does incorporate some
rudimentary filtering to prevent offensive messages from being
posted, so hopefully Apple's security team can extend this to also
block scam messages and malicious links. In the meantime, though,
Ping users should be wary of believing what they read on the new
service."
Sophos published research earlier this year demonstrating that
there had been a 70% increase in the number of users reporting spam
and malware being spread via social networks, a trend which
continues to grow.
"As more companies jump on the social networking bandwagon they
must think carefully about what they are going to do to make their
communities a safe place for users to hang out," continued Cluley.
"If they're complacent about these sorts of security risks then
users may end up voting with their feet, and find a safer place to
spend their online time."
More details of the Ping spam attacks can be found on Chet
Wisniewski's blog
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.