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Honeypot profiles and malevolent e-reputation attacks on Facebook
Nasri Messarra, Anne MioneUniversité de Montpellier 1 – MRM
International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) Conference, Sunbelt XXXIV, Tampa, Florida, USA, 2014
Background Most SN studies in general & OSN studies in particular work
on already existing networks to find influencers (Trusov, Bodapati & Bucklin), hubs, bridges, etc., and restructure them (Valente)
Social bots and fake profiles have one objective: maximizing the number of friends and then, eventually studying the resulting network (Boshmaf, Muslukhov). They are in majority based on sexual attraction (Barracuda statistics) and are used as carriers of information – not an influencers (empiric)
Recent studies show that size does not matter (Scarpi) and that one of the keys to success is the initial seeding population (Liu-Thompkins)
We believe that Facebook is not really a non-directed network (in & out degrees matter)
How activists attack on Facebook1- Post directly on the brand page
2- Post on their own social networks and Facebook communities and wait for the viral effect to reach the brand
Reported cases & littérature about Nestlé, Pampers, DKNY, Marie-Claire, Capri Sun, Cooks Source, Bershka…
Weaknesses of both methods1- Post directly on the brand page
2- Post on their own social networks and Facebook communities and wait for the viral effect to reach the brand
Exposure of consumer posts on the page was reduced since FB has
chosen to put all customer comments in a small
discrete area
The user gets banned,Communication is closed
Creating viral content is demanding and complex.
Information may never break through
Brand communityOn Facebook(Brand page) Engaged
fans
Efficient schema for a blitz unstoppable attack
Personal timeline
What if a person can become friend on his own timeline/profile with engaged fans of a brand?
Diffusion will only need to be organic, not viral (no need for WOM for diffusion)
The brand will not have direct control to ban the user
Engaged fans
Honeypot profiles Can we attract engaged fans of a brand Around a high-prestige profile (in degree > out
degree) with common interests and call for reciprocity (the illusion of social proof)
In order to create an efficient initial seeding population
That can be reached directly through organic communication?
Attraction by common interest
The cover experiment Infiltration of a politician network: Obama, Hariri…, Infiltration of a
movement: Syrian revolution, Infiltration of a star: Ronaldo, Infiltration of a company’s group – using a profile with a cover photo that reflect a common interest and without any other content
Sending requests to 100 engaged users - 40% responded positively
Attraction through the value of friends
Creating network value by choosing popular friends
The Spartacus experiment (male, very small set of photos, standard mid-age person with kids, etc.) - Different from social bots: unattractive male, weird name (cannot be confused with someone else),
Started with 5 real friends & only chooses the most popular mutual friends
After 4 months from the beginning of the experiment we started receiving friend requests on a regular basis (Prestige = 10% after 2 years)
Currently has more than 500 friends
Attraction by impersonation
Impersonating a public figure Zero friend request sent The impersonator just likes comments on Facebook talking about him and his
actions 2 experiments, 5000 friends reached exponentially in a matter of weeks
The strategic power of honeypot profiles Build their network Which is an optimized seeding population Of engaged fans of an adversary or friend.
Honeypot profiles Cannot be banned from a page Reach fans organically Can have a very high prestige rate depending on the method used Have the illusion of social proof, liking and reciprocity.
Discussion
We are aware that our experiments on honeypot profiles and malevolent influence in online social networks raise ethical questions. Yet, we hope that our work will make brands and consumer more aware of the manipulation they can face on online social network and help them find ways to immune themselves again such malevolent attacks.
We’re only seeing the tip of the OSN iceberg. Brands and consumers should be ready for future and smarter evolutions.
The same experiments can be reproduced with real Facebook accounts and the findings can be used as well to create engaged communities and improve a company’s reputation or promote brands in an ethical way.
