Malicious actors are seeking to illegally access the social media and other personal accounts of underage children and adults in order to steal explicit content, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The threat actors share the content in various forums or post it for sale in criminal marketplaces, the FBI said in an Aug. 10 public service announcement alert.
In some cases, personally identifiable information such as names, phone numbers, social media usernames, and emails is posted alongside the explicit content. This exposes these victims to re-victimization, including sextortion and harassment.
The FBI detailed three tactics used by these malicious actors to illegally access victims’ accounts. The first involves high-volume password and PIN attempts on targeted accounts….