Posting high-resolution photos on social media risky

Enjoy sharing high-quality photographs on social media platforms? Here’s why you should take a step back.

- Waheed Abbas

UAE residents have been warned against posting high-resolution images online, as they could be exploited for identity theft, SIM swapping, and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

“If you have two high-resolution images on social media, scammers can identify fingerprints, and they can create digital identity or images to create a bank account or create an e-SIM,” said Ashraf Koheil, regional sales director for Meta, Group-IB.

Social media penetration in the UAE is relatively high, as an average resident has more than one social media account, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube. Cybersecurity experts warn that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting Friday nights, knowing that security operations are not running at full capacity on that day.

“They could manipulate digital identity and date of birth and create a crypto account and use that account for money laundering and terror financing,” he said. Koheil also added that students from financially sound backgrounds are often targeted.