Social Media HACK Alert
ROBERTSON COUNTY TENNESSEE: (Smokey Barn News) – We are getting reports of a clever social media hack that is making its way around the Robertson County area.
Here’s the rundown…
First, a friend (on their real account) will send you a message saying, “What’s your number?” They’re not the closest friend but you have chatted before so you give up your number. The fact that you got the message means that your friend has already lost control over their account. If you try to warn your friend on the same platform only the hacker will see it.
After you send over your number you’ll get a follow-up message that reads something like this..
“I’ve been locked out of Facebook and they asked me to send a confirmation code to one of my friends so that I can get back into my page.” Seconds later you’ll get the code via email. If you give them the code they will be able to take over your account and lock you out.
Several people in the area have fallen for this ruse. This is not the same thing as someone setting up an identical account as yours in an attempt to ruse all your friends. This hack effectively gives a hacker complete control of your real account. 
Unfortunately, if you do get hacked, the pathway back can be arduous. Here are some good rules to follow.
1) Never give out your number if asked online. 2) Never click on a link sent to you without direct knowledge that the link is really from a friend. An email or text message that appears to be from a friend might be a ruse. ~~”Hey Linda, look at this cute cat video.”~~ If you click the link you may be downloading a malicious virus. The point is, never blindly click on a link or give out personal information without knowing who it really is and what they really want.
There are so many hacks it would take a book to cover them and by the time you finished the book, there would be an entirely new set of hacks. For corporations, there’s a lot at stake. They stand to lose access to critical data and trade secrets but for most of us, it might just mean losing access to a social media account.
Even well-trained security professionals can fall for a well-timed clever ruse so don’t let it destroy your life if it happens to you. It’s just part of the digital world we all live in. Just use your best judgment and confirm everything that comes at you. Like they say -trust your instincts. If something feels off, run for the hills. The worst that can happen is, when you get to church on Sunday your friend will say “That was really me! ha ha ha”
What’s coming?
String Logic (a sister company to Smokey Barn News) works with companies all across the US to lock down their Intellectual Property or I.P.. They help companies learn how to block both digital and old-school analog hacks. The goal is to limit the loss of I.P..
In that capacity, String Logic sees lots of hacks. One coming down the pike has the potential to change a great many things. You have heard about it already, it’s A.I. or Artificial Intelligence. Simply put it’s new advanced computer hardware and software. A.I. offers huge potential for just about all branches of science and technology but it has a dark side too.
Feed A.I. a bit of your voice and it will produce a surprising duplication that sounds enough like you to fool a friend, at least for a time. Real-time on-the-fly voice duplication is still a bit sketchy but it is likely just weeks or months away as A.I. technology grows exponentially. What is available now could manifest itself as a voicemail from your son or daughter. The voicemail will be simple– “Yeah Mom, that was me. Text me the number Facebook sent you.” But it’s not them at all, it’s an A.I. reproduction. This issue will hit high-profile individuals first but it’s on the way for all of us.
It means that the days of using someone’s voice as a way to confirm their identity are on the way out. With a 30-second sampling of your voice, they can make you say whatever they want with A.I.. In some circles, they are already using verbal passwords to confirm identities. A.I. has already penetrated just about every facet of digital society and it’s being tossed at everything from cancer research and college term papers to politics and news. It’s here to stay but A.I.’s ultimate effect on society is unknown.
A.I. will likely transform nearly all facets of business and society but a quick search online will reveal that experts are split on the end result of the A.I. experiment.
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