Home > Articles > Security > Network Security

Software [In]security: Twitter Security

Content issues aside, Twitter has some potentially serious security issues. Gary McGraw, author of Software Security: Building Security In, details these vulnerabilities.
Like this article? We recommend

Making Your Thoughts as Small and Incomplete as Possible

Just for the record, I don't use Twitter. But if this column were a Twitter entry, it might read something like:

My biggest issue with Twitter turns out not to be a security issue, but rather a content issue. If you thought that blogging led to information chaos, half-baked ideas, and incoherent logic, Twitter ups the ante by making the constituent thoughts as small as possible. Perhaps I'm a Luddite, but I think editors play an important role in the world separating the wheat from the chaff. I'll miss my paper copy of the Washington Post once the newspaper business finally dies. Replacing the daily newspaper with Twitter detritus seems like a lousy tradeoff.

But this is a security column, so lets spend a few minutes pondering the security ramifications of Twitter. I can think of a few right off the top of my head: it's easy to spoof someone on Twitter, it's a perfect vector for malicious code and phishing, Twitter allows dingbats to cash in their last remaining privacy chit, and it has a coolness factor that often overrides common sense.

Spoofing Twits

On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog. In fact, nobody knows who you are at all. This can be a problem.

Fake websites abound on the Web. A humorous collection of them can be found here. Spoofing an organization is as easy as buying a URL. But it gets worse. The rather largish issue of spoofing the entire Web, first described in detail in 1997 by the Princeton Team, remains a serious problem! Really.

Twitter carries on in the long tradition of Internet spoofing by allowing someone to masquerade as just about anyone they want. In fact, even lowly security guys like me apparently merit spoofers. I have no idea who FakeGaryMcGraw is, but it's not me. The question is whether or not I should care? (Some people apparently do.) It's really not that clever or interesting making fun of someone anonymously. Twit.

Malicious Code: Koobface Targets Twitter

Putting spoofing risks to shame, Twitter makes an excellent vector for malicious code and for phishing. By embedding a URL in a Tweet (less than 140 characters please, so tinyurl may be in order), nefarious persons can cause you to surf to a website with malicious code. Or maybe they can just get you to hand over your credentials.

Lest this sound far fetched, one of the first worms to target Twitter (called Koobface and now on its second wave), used a classic phishing attack. The Tweet in question says jannawalitax.blogspot.com "has a funny video about you" or "a funny post about you" which in theory sends you back to the log-in page of Twitter. But instead of the real login page, a fake page is displayed where many Twitter users happily authenticated themselves with their real credentials (thus handing them directly over to cybercriminals). A second version appears to come from your Twitter colleagues making it even more likely to be clicked on.

Twitter is no more dangerous than any other phishing vector, of course. But it is no less dangerous either.

Privacy? What Privacy?

Finally, there is privacy. Congressman Pete Hoekstra learned the hard way that Twitter peels away yet another layer of the privacy onion. By Twittering the arrival of his Congressional delegation in Bagdad, the Michigan Republican garnered plenty of intense criticism. Did his Tweet compromise the security of the supposedly secret mission (the trip was classified and his location was not to be known)? If not, it's probably only a matter of time before Twitter is mistakenly used to that effect.

This is not an issue exclusive to Republicans. Obama's new CIO Vivek Kundra is a big fan of Twitter and has encouraged his staff to make use of the service. Hopefully they will take into account the public nature of Tweets.

The problem in this case is that nobody seems to realize that Twitter is a public forum. Generation Y is busy confronting this big privacy issue head on. Their Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter-laden pasts sometimes don't help much as they trawl for work during a recession. What you say in public on the Internet is, well, public. Furthermore, what you say and the pictures you post may come back to haunt you when you're not busy doing tequila shots. Hangover anyone?

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Personally, I think Twitter should be rebranded "Touretter," transforming Tweets into "Twitches." Then again that's probably a disservice to poor people who are victims of Tourette's Syndrome. There may be more actual content in tics.

A wise person once opined about writing a shorter note if only there were more time. If we equate additional thought with better quality, then the average tweet has to be electronic equivalent of exclaiming "Hey, look what I can do!" just prior to applying for a Darwin Award.

What the world needs is a large number of unemployed newspaper editors to sort through the Tweets and let us all know what stories to pay attention to. I hear there's going to be a big supply.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020