Five cyber dangers of using company email to register on Tinder

• The cybersecurity company S2 Grupo has pointed out that when we use corporate email for this type of social networks we can put the company, colleagues and ourselves at cyber risk.

• With this type of actions we can believe that we are talking to a person and that in reality it is a bot and fall into the trap of social engineering cyber-attacks such as phishing, catfishing, cyber-blackmail or cyber-scams, among many others.

• Identity theft, extortion, access and dissemination of confidential information and hacking of security systems in our workplace are other related risks.

The Valencian company S2 Grupo, specialized in cybersecurity and critical systems management, has highlighted that a common practice that can lead to cybersecurity problems in companies and organizations of all kinds, is that people who are part of their team use corporate mail to register on social networks.

"One of the cases where this happens is on Tinder, for example. And here the danger is very easily seen. We give out a lot of information about ourselves, which we may even think is private, and all that data we don't really know who we are offering it to. What's more, we may not be giving it to a person and it may be a bot. Any cybercriminal can hack our Tinder profile, find out where we work and attack our professional account," said José Rosell, managing partner of S2 Grupo.

In this context, the cybersecurity company's team has highlighted that 5 dangers of using the email account in this social network are the following:

1.- Tinder has too much information about you >> By downloading Tinder and accepting its policy and terms of use, you allow it to access information not only about the device from which you are going to use the app, but also about the user profile that is going to be created. If this user uses a professional email account, Tinder collects it in its databases, linking it to a specific profile and, depending on the case, to bank details.  

2. You do not know who is behind the screen >> The false sense of security provided by talking through the screen with unknown people makes us more confident and leads us to establish contact with anyone with whom we make a match, regardless of whether we really know them or not. What's more, we may even be in communication with a bot and not even know it. In these cases, the chances of becoming victims of any social engineering attack (phishing, catfishing, blackmail, scams, theft of personal information or accounts, infection of the device by viruses) multiply.

3. The scope for cybercriminals to act is greater >> The fact that we do not separate our professional and personal spheres provides more complete information about us, widening the scope for cybercriminals to act and increasing the potential damage of cyberattacks. The more we reserve relevant data about ourselves, the more cybersecure we will be. It is important to learn to separate the personal aspect from the work aspect because it guarantees us greater protection when using Internet services.  

4. The organization's information can be compromised, as well as that of colleagues and one’s own >> If the email used to create the profile is the same as the one used for our job, the danger is obvious, because if our profile is hacked, the professional account can be accessed. Identity theft (both personal and professional), extortion, access and dissemination of confidential information and hacking of security systems in our workplace, are some of the risks to which we expose ourselves if we link our professional account to a personal app.

5. Lack of professionalism >> Using the corporate email account for personal purposes can also be interpreted as lack of professionalism. The email is an indispensable work tool provided by the corporation to which we belong in order to perform our functions correctly and, therefore, it is not ours. If we use this resource for personal purposes, with the risk that this entails, we are demonstrating a lack of commitment and seriousness with our work, and we are undermining the trust placed in us.

In conclusion, the recommendation of the S2 Grupo team to avoid incurring in this type of cyber dangers in the use of a social network such as Tinder is to create a personal and specific email account for this and limit the amount of information that is shared because an over exposure of our data can put us in a disadvantageous position.