Social networks and web security: Implications on open source intelligence

Recent occurrences in the global geopolitical arena shape the ground to the vanguard of swift strategic intelligence gathering through open-source medium, particularly the online social networking media. Various intelligence agencies in the world - are at present - incorporating online social media platforms into function, as a valuable source of information acquisition. However, the integration of the same is yet to be instilled in Pakistan broadly to supplement the overall operations of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In this paper, recent events that highlighted the intelligence aspect of social media networking have been considered including, Arab Spring, Libyan civil war associated with NATO's operations of 2011 and Israel Air Flotilla. Conjointly, the analysis of the events signify the influential competence of social media network to illustrate trends of the masses and devise political stance, increment tactful intelligence, and contribute to timely yet accurate operations against targeted factions. In addition, the paper is put together on the foundation and significance of security risks associated with social networks comprising of privacy violations and divulgence of confidential and personal data which may be used for malicious activities by spiteful entities or for state sponsored cyber warfare and monitoring on the lines of the cases discussed. Furthermore, recommendations of easy executable practices to assist users to improve privacy on social media networking websites are also proffered.