Researcher Thomas Ryan wanted to demonstrate the vulnerability of social networks, so he created a fictional analyst alter-ego named “Robin Sage.” She was a hot 25-year-old with an MIT degree, a résumé that included a job at the Naval Network Warfare Command, and “over 10 years” of hacking experience (she started at age 14.) She was active on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the like, and soon had hundreds of friends from the U.S. military, the intelligence community, and security contractor firms. Could her looks have had anything to do with her success in duping them? Well, 82% of her “friends” were male…
Computerworld has the full story (via MSNBC).