ANALYSIS OF CYBERSECURITY THREATS IN SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study The rapid growth of social media has transformed communication, commerce, and governance worldwide. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and LinkedIn have become integral to everyday life, connecting billions of users in real time (Statista, 2024). According to recent global statistics, more than 4.9 billion individuals, representing over 60% of the world’s population, now actively use social media (Kemp, 2024). These platforms enable people to share information instantly, build communities, and influence public opinion. In Nigeria, social media has moved beyond entertainment to become a tool for business, education, political mobilisation, and social activism (Okunola et al., 2023). However, the same features that make social media powerful openness, interactivity, and mass connectivity also expose users to significant cybersecurity risks (ENISA, 2023). Cybersecurity threats on social media are unique compared to traditional cybercrime. Whereas earlier digital crimes often required technical sophistication, threats on social platforms frequently exploit human psychology, social trust, and design weaknesses (Wang et al., 2022). Attackers use persuasive communication, cloned profiles, fake adverts, and malicious links to deceive users. These methods align with social engineering tactics, making individuals, rather than systems, the primary targets. In Nigeria, this is compounded by gaps in digital literacy, where many users lack adequate knowledge of safe online practices (Ojedokun & Balogun, 2020). The Nigerian digital environment illustrates these vulnerabilities clearly. Reports from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC, 2024) indicate that the country has over 40 million active social media accounts, a number that continues to rise annually. Young people constitute the majority of these users, reflecting the country’s demographic structure where over 60% of the population is under 30 years old (National Bureau of Statistics [NBS], 2023). This group is highly active online, relying on WhatsApp for communication, Facebook and Instagram for commerce, and X for political commentary. Unfortunately, these same platforms are frequently exploited by cybercriminals to spread misinformation, conduct scams, and impersonate individuals or businesses (Ibrahim & Adesina, 2021). Globally, cybersecurity incidents on social media demonstrate the scale of the threat. The 2020 Twitter hack, which compromised celebrity accounts to promote a cryptocurrency scam, highlighted the vulnerability of high-profile accounts (Frenkel & Conger, 2020). Similarly, coordinated misinformation campaigns on Facebook and WhatsApp during elections in Brazil, India, and Nigeria demonstrated how disinformation can destabilise democratic processes (Bradshaw et al., 2022). These cases underscore the reality that social media threats are not merely personal risks but issues of national security, economic stability, and social cohesion (UNODC, 2023). The Nigerian context adds layers of complexity. Fraudulent practices such as “Yahoo-Yahoo” scams, SIM-swap frauds, and fake investment schemes have migrated to social platforms where unsuspecting users are targeted daily (Chukwuere & Onuoha, 2021). During the #EndSARS protests, misinformation on Twitter and Facebook was strategically deployed to influence narratives and discredit activists (Ojebode et al., 2021). On a personal level, countless Nigerians continue to fall victim to romance scams on Facebook, fake e-commerce shops on Instagram, and fraudulent WhatsApp investment groups (Osuagwu & Abubakar, 2022). These examples reveal that threats are not confined to cyber-technical vulnerabilities but extend deeply into social, cultural, and economic domains.