"Privacy App Pinpoints Your Exact Location Using Social Media"
September 3, 2013 | Alice Truong, Fast Company
Press
Though it seems like oversharing millennials have little regard for online privacy, researchers at the International Computer Science Institute and UC Berkeley say many high school students simply aren't aware how much information is posted with their social media updates.
"This Tool Is Designed To Scare You Off Geotagging"
September 3, 2013 | Kecia Lynn, Big Think
As part of a project titled "Teaching Privacy," which is funded by the National Science Foundation, a group of International Computer Science Institute (ISCI) researchers created a site, Ready or Not, that displays geographical information related to an individual Twitter or Instagram account.
"Ready or Not - Another Way to Stalk Twitter and Instagram Users"
September 1, 2013 | ThirdParent.net
Researchers at Cal Berkeley have released a new tool as part of the International Computer Science Institute’s (ICSI) Teach Privacy initiative – a tool that should serve as a stark reminder to parents of the predator risk brought on by simply overlooking or misapplying some privacy settings on social media accounts.
"NCSA Shares $1.6 Million Cybersecurity Grant"
September 1, 2013 | Christine Des Garennes, News-Gazette, Illinois
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois has received a federal grant to examine strategies for protecting the power grid and other utilities from cyber attacks.
"This Tool Lets You Stalk Twitter Users to Teach Them a Lesson About Privacy"
August 30, 2013 | Derrick Harris, GigaOM
Researchers have released a tool that lets anyone track the whereabouts of Twitter and Instagram users who allow geotagging of their posts. They want social media users to be aware that geotagging exists and what kind of information it provides.
"Celebrate Labor Day by Cyber-Stalking Your Ex With This Handy New Program"
August 30, 2013 | Molly Mulshine, BetaBeat
Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have offered users the ability to tag their locations with each new post for a while now–and one group of researchers has created a tool that will allow people to use that information to their advantage by stalking the shit out of friends and arch nemeses alike.
"Meet the Algorithm That Can Spot and Kill Twitterbots Before They Ever Start Spamming"
August 23, 2013 | Derrick Harris, GigaOM
Researchers have a devised a method for identifying fake Twitter accounts that proved highly accurate across 27 popular black-market merchants. With Twitter’s cooperation, they spotted and deleted millions of accounts, using only data generated during the account-registration process.
"Researchers Post as Scammers to Curb Spam on Twitter"
August 19, 2013 | Nishtha Kanal, Tech2
Any regular user of Twitter will testify against how annoying spam and spammy accounts on the micro-blogging website can get. However, there are a bunch of people who’re planning to be your knights in shining armour and find a way to curb this spam attack on Twitter. You know how they say, when in Rome do as the Romans do, right? These people are doing just the same – being a part of the spam to stop the spam.
"Buying 120,000 Twitter Accounts Reveals New Way to Block Spam"
August 19, 2013 | Tom Simonite, MIT Technology Review
A research project in which academics bought over 120,000 fraudulent Twitter accounts has shown how easily spammers evade the company’s controls—and may have yielded a new way of beating social-network spam. Part research exercise and part sting operation, the project generated data that is being used to train software to automatically block spammers from creating accounts.
"Researchers Pose as Scammers to Cut Back on Bogus Twitter Accounts"
August 17, 2013 | Dante D'Orazio, The Verge
Spam is a problem, and any Twitter user knows well that the social network has its fair share of it. A team of researchers is working to fight back, however. In a paper released this week, they detailed how they've been working with Twitter to take a close look at how fraudulent accounts are made and how they can be stopped — and they've already had promising results.