Gmail And Samsung Account Deletions — Why 94% Of You Must Act Now

Forbes

2 days ago

Zombie accounts pose major cybersecurity threat — which is why Gmail and Samsung are deleting them.
Nobody likes discovering that their accounts are being deleted. Just ask the myriad of Facebook and Instagram users who have found themselves caught up in a 10 million account purge for evidence of that. However, when Google confirmed that Gmail accounts were being deleted, and Samsung followed suit, the reasoning was hard to counter: to leave them alone was a cybersecurity risk. Now, new research has proven just how right the two tech behemoths were, and still are. That research found that 94% of users have at least one zombie account, unused for at least a year, which is a prime target for hackers. Here's what you need to know and do.
Gmail And Samsung Were Right — Zombie Accounts Are A Security Nightmare
The cybersecurity space is full of warnings about the need to update applications such as when new Chrome vulnerabilities are discovered, but much less emphasis is placed upon the dangers of not updating old accounts. Whether that be an email account you haven't used in ages, or an online retailer account that has been gathering virtual dust, is besides the point: old, unused, so-called zombie accounts pose a risk to your data just as surely as an outdated app does.
'94% of people have at least one forgotten online account that has been dormant for over a year but is still active,' Scott McMacken, a data recovery specialist at Secure Data Recovery, said, adding that 'these zombie profiles are more than just digital clutter: they're prime targets for cybercriminals.' The recently published research found that Pandora, Groupon, Shutterfly, Dropbox, Tumblr, Flickr, Duolingo, Photobucket, Vimeo and Khan Academy headed the list of dusty account gatherers. 'Many users simply forget these accounts exist,' McMacken said, 'assuming that inactivity means deletion.'
When Google introduced its update to an inactive accounts policy, which triggered a round of email warnings to users, it stated that an account left unused is more likely to be compromised than an active one. "Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step verification set up," Ruth Kricheli, a vice president of product management at Google said at the time.
'The issue is that these accounts still store personal information that can be misused,' Boris Cipot, senior security engineer at Black Duck, warned. 'In the event of a data breach, attackers can use your outdated information to gain access to your current accounts or trick you into revealing more,' Cipot continued, 'and if you reused passwords across multiple accounts, the risk is even greater.'
Javvad Malik, lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, recommended that everyone should 'remain aware of their digital footprints and audit and close old accounts, use unique passwords, and turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible.'
And don't complain if Gmail sends you an inactive account deletion warning; take it as a wake-up call and respond accordingly.