Facebook’s 800 Pound Gorilla Threatens Success: Now ThreatMetrix Expert Lays Bare Facebook Mobile, Malware and Privacy Issues
Buried deep within Facebook’s IPO paperwork (okay, it was on page 12 of its S1) are risks Facebook faces. As required, these are addressed from a corporate profit and loss view, i.e., what the risks are for potential investors.
Alisdair Faulkner, ThreatMetrix’s chief products officer, and a highly-respected industry security expert, analyzes Facebook’s mobile, malware and privacy issues from a different perspective – the very major and very real security risks threatening Facebook users’ privacy, finances and possibly, their safety.
Facebook: Growth in use of Facebook through our mobile products, where we do not currently display ads, as a substitute for use on personal computers, may negatively affect our revenue and financial results.
ThreatMetrix’s Alisdair Faulkner: Mobile users’ GPS location uniquely distinguishes a specific user from everyone else on the planet. Unless Facebook can monetize mobile directly, they are highly likely to follow Google’s lead and use a consumer’s precise location and travel habits to serve them more profitable advertisements to their PC.
Facebook: Improper access to or disclosure of our users’ information could harm our reputation and adversely affect our business.
ThreatMetrix’s Alisdair Faulkner: Facebook is the social operating system of the Internet. If you were a criminal, would you rather hack a Windows’ computer or 800 million identities? It’s a reality that almost everyone will at some point in their life have their credit card compromised. While a bank can issue a new card and cover the liability, Facebook can’t issue users a new identity – at least not today. Make no mistake. Facebook is the target of every cybercrime collective and state-sponsored intelligence agency on the planet.
Facebook: Our business is subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, and other matters. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could harm our business.
ThreatMetrix’s Alisdair Faulkner: It’s always precarious when lawmakers and lobbyists mandate technology solutions. Sometimes they get it right – like the FFIEC’s guidance in 2011, which required U.S. banks to protect themselves and their customers from malware. On the other hand, sometimes they get it horribly wrong, like with SOPA, PIPA and ACTA.
Security and privacy issues dogging Facebook may be many of the same ones your own company is challenged by. Fortunately, the solution is a ThreatMetrix™ solution. Without relying on passwords, user names and cookies to protect its clients, the ThreatMetrix™ Cybercrime Defender Platform uses anonymous data from the computer, its connection to the Internet and contextual data from a transaction to sniff out cybercriminals. The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Defender Platform is the first industry solution that integrates sophisticated malware detection and advanced device identification technologies in a single, unified platform. This unified approach to cybersecurity is a game changer. By integrating malware detection and device identification with shared, centralized intelligence, ThreatMetrix delivers the unique ability to protect the integrity of entire online transactions.
