Social networking puts staff at risk of Mafia extortion, warns ex-FBI agent

Staff in profitable businesses are leaving too much of their personal information online, which could make them vulnerable to extortion from the Russian and Italian Mafia, a former FBI undercover agent has warned.

Joe Pistone, who worked at the FBI for 27 years, said the Russian and Italian Mafia were using data from public sites to launch attacks against businesses and individuals.

"People put too much information on social media sites like Facebook and MySpace," he said.

Users on these sites may include their work details in personal profiles, allowing organised crime gangs to identify them and their company.

Speaking to Computer Weekly prior to a panel discussion at the Institute of Directors with business heads in London today, Pistone said, "Anyone is vulnerable. They will try to find your weakness. It may be money, it may be drugs, it may be women. They will go after vulnerable individuals in your business."

Read the whole article here.

-Ken

p.s. just following on from Phoenix's thread here