Report: Twitter ‘Crime’ on the Rise
Twitter is growing as a playground for malicious Internet attacks, according to a new report from Barracuda Networks Inc.
Barracuda Networks, a provider of data security software, said its “Twitter crime rate” jumped 20 percent from the first half of 2010 to the last half of 2010.
The “crime rate” refers to the number of accounts created each month that eventually are blocked by Twitter for malicious activity, suspicious activity or misuse. Barracuda Networks said the percentage of suspended Twitter accounts increased from 1.6 percent during the first half of 2010 to 2 percent during the second half of 2010.
“Twitter continues to be an attractive destination for attackers,” Barracuda Networks said in the report. “While the growth rate of Twitter has slowed, existing users are getting more engaged. As such, attackers have increased their efforts there.”
The company called this the “dark side of Twitter.”
For its latest report, Barracuda Networks analyzed more than 26 million Twitter accounts during the second half of 2010.
Other highlights of the report include:
• 79 percent of Twitter users tweet less than once a day. “Legitimate users are using Twitter more. However, the majority of Twitter accounts still go unused,” Barracuda Networks said.
• For every 100 Twitter users, 39 have one to nine followers, while 50 have at least 10 followers. “Users are tweeting more often, and even casual users are becoming more active,” Barracuda Networks said.
• 54 percent of the 50 most popular Twitter users started using the social media site from November 2008 through April 2009.
• 43 percent of the people on Twitter are active users, meaning they have at least 10 followers, follow at least 10 people and have tweeted at least 10 times. That compares with 21 percent in January 2010 and 29 percent in July 2010.
• Twitter produced 8 percent of Internet malware in December 2010.
Twitter says on its website that “we value your online security as much as you do. Our team works constantly to protect the security of your account, and takes steps every day to provide a secure Twitter experience for our users.”
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