By Varonis

In 2012 a massive cyber attack by a hacker named “Peace” exploited over 117 million LinkedIn users’ passwords. After the dust settled from the initial attack, new protocols were put in place and the breach was all but forgotten in the public eye, the same hacker reared their head again. Nearly five years later, “Peace” began releasing the stolen password information of the same LinkedIn users from the earlier hack.

With millions of users’ data (or billions, in the case of Facebook) floating around the web, the need for tight security from social media platforms is obvious. Facebook alone has reported receiving more than 600,000 security hack attempts each day. (Although that is nothing compared to the NSA’s 300 million attempted hacks each day!)

The wide age range and technology experience level of social media users makes security management even more complex. A social platform needs to not only combat hackers, but also has to protect users whose personal security practices might be elementary. Only 18 percent of Americans report changing their social media password regularly.

So with the constant threats of hacks coming in — from both foreign and domestic hackers — what exactly are these platforms doing to keep our information safe?

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