Typhoon Ketsana is currently leaving a trail of destruction, first in the Philippines, and now in Vietnam. Amidst the disaster, we see a glimmer of hope, one where netizens actively participate to make a difference, empowered by the social Web.

Citizen Journalism

In the Philippines, residents with camera phones began taking pictures and videos of events as they happened. Videos were uploaded to YouTube, and were then linked to Facebook. In addition, pictures uploaded in Flickr or Facebook were linked as well.

These photos and videos provide almost real-time information, faster than established news outlets and proved to be critical in mapping out traffic jams, flood water levels, and areas in need of immediate rescue.

Social Networks as a Sounding Board for Public Announcements

Contact numbers of government institutions and NGOs were posted in Facebook for people who might need them. It’s important to note the Please repost plea at the end of the message were added to make sure it gets to other social groups, thus making the message “viral.”

SOS on Facebook!

Other people also employed Facebook to spread SOS messages from other people who were in critical/near-critical condition. The messages were spread in the hope that a person connected to a government agency, NGO, or rescue team will receive the message. In most cases, these pleas for help were responded to.

Mapping out SOS calls with Google Maps

A group of volunteers set up a Google map to help rescue teams pin point the exact location of SOS calls received from radio, TV, social networks, and email. We can also see the concentration of distress calls by viewing the said map, which may help in the deployment and allocation of resources of rescue teams.

Google Maps Used in the Study of Flood Levels

A group of university professors surveyed the affected residents about the flood level in their area. This data is expected to be used in the research of water flow, flood management, and city planning.

Some Caveats

As usual, these types of events can be leveraged by cybercriminals in order to propagate malware. In fact, Trend Micro discovered several malicious websites using blackhat SEO with keywords related to Ketsana in order to install FAKEAV.

Scammers may also cash in on the situation so make sure all donations and relief items are channeled through reputable organizations.

Indeed, Web 2.0 can save lives, but we also need to keep in mind that cybercriminals are always waiting to exploit the situation, our vigilance must also extend to matters pertaining to security.

Conclusions

This particular experience is yet another proof of the reach and importance of social networks and social media. Established institutions and governments may fail, but the population as a whole will find a way to organize and help, aided greatly by social networks.

With that in mind, I can’t help but think of how these can be exploited by people with ill intentions. Fake donation accounts may be set-up and spread on social networks while malware may use the situation as a social engineering trick. Right now, everything is just based on trust, but it won’t be long before we see scam messages leveraging the tragedy. Users should be vigilant with such scams. Good thing, Trend Micro saves users from these security threats with its Trend Micro Smart Protection Network.