Ask a Social Network Security Manager anything

32 Questions

Last Answer on December 02, 2013

Is it illegal for me to upload someone else’s image to my profile? Do copyright holders every send you takedown notices, and do you have to comply?

Asked by anonpigeon over 11 years ago

For the first question, it depends on the image rights. For example, if the image is Public Domain, then you should be OK. If you are ever unsure, probably best not to upload the picture. YES I can tell you right now that any website that allows users to post content MUST comply with takedown notices, in accordance with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Fortunately for website operators, the DMCA is fairly clear about the process. More fun reading about the DMCA can be had here: http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf Please note my response here is very generalized and should not be used as legal advice!! :)

744 Votes

Don’t social networks get hundreds if not thousands of attempted security intrusions every week? What was the furthest any hacker actually got?

Asked by ljenkins over 11 years ago

The biggest security issue I see that is still plaguing social network sites (and many other types of sites) are phishing attempts. I've seen very successful phishing schemes that result in thousands of user account login information, which then results in a bot automatically logging into that user's account and sending out spam. Cross site scripting (xss) hacks are also annoying and have, in the past, run rampant (in one instance, about 1 Million profiles were affected in a short period of time). They are more annoying than malicious - I consider phishing worse in terms of what we experienced.

743 Votes

Did you proactively search for and report people whose profiles suggested they were breaking the law? Like: if someone posts a picture of themself snorting coke?

Asked by justin over 11 years ago

Not really - using your example, I will explain why. First, we can't really determine (nor should we) if that is real cocaine (or say, pixie stick sugar). Second, the profile might claim the user lives in Miami, but we can't verify that (even if IP logs show a Miami-ish location, they could be using a proxy). Also, even if we reached out to local law enforcement with this information, we would still require a subpoena to release anything that would help law enforcement actually locate this person (such as their IP logs or email address). Law enforcement is already incredibly swamped with all the real-life crime/issues going on to deal with all the online activity going on, so no way are they going to take on this case knowing they have to do all this extra work for a potential, non confirmed, or as you said, suggested, crime. A major exception to this rule is child pornography. As our site proactively reviewed image content being uploaded to the site, we would come across questionable images. It is the law that we immediately report any child pornography to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), who has their own law enforcement agents assigned to them (I.C.E.). Even if we are not 100% sure that it is an underage person, it doesn't matter - if it raises a red flag, we don't take chances and report it.

741 Votes

When you first started this job, were you braced for all of the nasty stuff you encountered? Or was there a time in the beginning where you thought, "I had no idea people could be THIS messed up?"

Asked by S.D. Jones over 11 years ago

When I started the job, I was only focusing on security issues (vulnerabilities, attackers, etc). I had no idea I'd go down the path of pedophiles, law enforcement issues, insane profiles, nutjob users, and content that you just can't un-see once it's seen. I had already been online for MANY many years (back in newsgroup days) so I already had a pretty strong inkling of the stuff out there. ;)

725 Votes

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I know Facebook says it's not possible to see who's viewed your profile. But is the "who's viewed your profile" information stored anywhere, such that a hacker could find and distribute it?

Asked by mealtik over 11 years ago

I wouldn't worry about that. But clever people with their own web server logs could see what IP addresses look at their profile. ;-)

717 Votes

Do you think that LinkedIn has a bright future because the Facebook generation is 'growing up' and looking for more professional social networking?

Asked by askramsingh1977 over 11 years ago

I personally love LinkedIn and utilize it weekly. I think it does indeed have a bright future and meets a good niche in the social network arena.

716 Votes

If one user was constantly messaging another user and getting no responses, would you look into it more closely to see if it was some kind of stalking or harassment?

Asked by Angela_82 about 11 years ago

If the recipient reported the harrassment, the standard response is to tell the recipient to block the harrasser. If the harrassment continued, we would look at the harrasser and their messages, and potentially (if warranted) remove the violator's account.

If the recipient reported that they felt threatened, they would be advised to work with their local law enforcement agency.

693 Votes

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Social Network Security Manager

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Is it illegal for me to upload someone else’s image to my profile? Do copyright holders every send you takedown notices, and do you have to comply?

Don’t social networks get hundreds if not thousands of attempted security intrusions every week? What was the furthest any hacker actually got?

Did you proactively search for and report people whose profiles suggested they were breaking the law? Like: if someone posts a picture of themself snorting coke?

When you first started this job, were you braced for all of the nasty stuff you encountered? Or was there a time in the beginning where you thought, "I had no idea people could be THIS messed up?"

Also on Jobstr...

I know Facebook says it's not possible to see who's viewed your profile. But is the "who's viewed your profile" information stored anywhere, such that a hacker could find and distribute it?

Do you think that LinkedIn has a bright future because the Facebook generation is 'growing up' and looking for more professional social networking?

If one user was constantly messaging another user and getting no responses, would you look into it more closely to see if it was some kind of stalking or harassment?

Social Network Security Manager

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Is it illegal for me to upload someone else’s image to my profile? Do copyright holders every send you takedown notices, and do you have to comply?

Don’t social networks get hundreds if not thousands of attempted security intrusions every week? What was the furthest any hacker actually got?

Did you proactively search for and report people whose profiles suggested they were breaking the law? Like: if someone posts a picture of themself snorting coke?

When you first started this job, were you braced for all of the nasty stuff you encountered? Or was there a time in the beginning where you thought, "I had no idea people could be THIS messed up?"

Also on Jobstr...

I know Facebook says it's not possible to see who's viewed your profile. But is the "who's viewed your profile" information stored anywhere, such that a hacker could find and distribute it?

Do you think that LinkedIn has a bright future because the Facebook generation is 'growing up' and looking for more professional social networking?

If one user was constantly messaging another user and getting no responses, would you look into it more closely to see if it was some kind of stalking or harassment?

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