Security and Privacy in Online Social Networks

Facebook has more monthly active users than almost any nation in the world. Whether one likes it or not, these users spend about 30 minutes daily browsing, posting, messaging, and otherwise socializing with others via OSNs and other social media. It's not surprising that social media has been taken to use by a wide range of individuals and organizations, from US President Obama who raised $690M in his reelection campaign of 2012, to the activists of Arab Spring in 2011, to numerous (legitimate and no so) organizations promoting their products and services, to law enforcement agencies. With so many different stakeholders, security and privacy in OSNs became an important, intriguing, and controversial subject. This talk will overview current research in OSN security and privacy and discuss, in a language accessible to wide audience, a snapshot of developments and discoveries published in last 5 years.