Facebook Is Making Security ‘Social’

Facebook’s recent launch of ThreatExchange is creating a community dedicated to solving cyber security threats as a ‘We’ rather than an ‘I’.
Who better to tackle the internet’s biggest problem than one of its heavy hitters: Facebook? With 1.23 billion monthly active users, Facebook has the focus to be able to draw attention to the topic that has been on many minds throughout the last year. Hackers, cyber attack, information theft and even ransomware: these are all major threats to the livelihood of our daily internet usage, not to mention our bank accounts.
Facebook’s response to the threats businesses and individuals face daily is the launch of ThreatExchange, a social database created to share the discoveries of cyber security intelligence. The idea behind the platform is to create a space where security professionals around the globe can share information and build on each others discoveries to create a safer web for us all.
According to Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report 2014 there is an alarming growth in cyber attacks from year to year:

• 700% growth in breaches with more than 10 million identities exposed and a 493% growth in total identities exposed.
• 23% growth in total web attacks blocked per day.
• 91% growth in Spear-Phishing Email Campaigns (targeting mainly small businesses).
• 6,787 new vulnerabilities with SSL and TLS protocol renegotiation being most commonly exploited.
• 1 in 566 websites have malware.

Working Together
Hackers usually target more than one victim at a time and sometimes thousands at a time. By creating a group environment, those affected can work together to find solutions to the threat or the attack. By learning together and offering different perspectives security professionals can save time and money by not having to work alone or duplicate work across the globe. Having a platform to support cyber security creates a sharing environment to pass ideas and work around to create a united front against hackers and cyber attacks.
Better Ways to Share
The methods for attacking individuals are too many to count. From IP Spoofing to SQL Injections, and Ransomware to Data Theft, it can be a hard cold world out there. It is important to protect yourself in every way that you can. Email lists, spreadsheets and forums have worked as a way to keep in contact with others invested in web security. But as hackers get more sophisticated, it can be hard to keep up with the latest attacks. If the individuals behind the threats are stepping up their game, so must we. ThreatExchange has created a space to stay up to date with the latest threats as well as the solutions.
Partnership
Facebook isn’t the only one looking for solutions to cyber threats. They have partnered up with others like Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo, Bitly and Dropbox to create a safer web. Facebook expects many other sites to join with them as the platform grows claiming that “when one company gets stronger, so do the rest of us.”
How to Get Involved
If you are interested in participating in the beta of ThreatExchange, have ideas on how to improve their site or run a data feed for threat information you can contact them through the contact form at ThreatExchange.fb.com/#slide=4