IBM: Some Dating Apps Are Perfect Match for Hackers

"Easygoing, athletic man seeking hacker to loot personal details and corporate data."

According to IBM Security, more than 60 percent of mobile dating apps are vulnerable to cyber attacks since they have access to features like the camera, microphone, storage, GPS location, and billing information. Meanwhile, 50 percent of the businesses examined by IBM had employees who had installed dating apps on phones with access to private work data.

"Many consumers use and trust their mobile phones for a variety of applications. It is this trust that gives hackers the opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities like the ones we found in these dating apps," Caleb Barlow, vice president of IBM Security, said in a statement.

Specifically, 26 of the 41 Android dating apps analyzed by IBM in its new study have medium- or high-severity vulnerabilities. The names of those apps were not disclosed, but IBM said it has notified all impacted app vendors. Windows Phone and iOS apps were not examined.

Those loopholes allow hackers to download malware, snag GPS information to track movements, steal credit card numbers, remotely control the camera or microphone, and full-out hijack your dating profile.

Say an attacker intercepted cookies from an app via a weak Wi-Fi connection. They could then tap into other features on your phone that the app can access, from the camera to GPS. Hackers might also display a fake log-in screen in an attempt to steal your username and password. "Then, the attacker can reach out to your contacts, pretend to be you and send them phishing messages with malicious code that could potentially infect their devices," IBM warned.

"Consumers need to be careful not to reveal too much personal information on these sites as they look to build a relationship," Barlow said, like your workplace, birthday, or social media profiles. "Our research demonstrates that some users may be engaged in a dangerous trade-off—with increased sharing resulting in decreased personal security and privacy."

IBM stressed that it does not want people to ditch mobile dating apps, but rather "educate organizations and their users on potential risks and mobile security best practices to use the applications safely."

IBM recommended checking an app's permissions and restricting access to features like your address book or GPS data. Plus, remember to always apply the latest patches and updates when available. And, of course, unique passwords for each online account.

Single mobile users aren't the only ones under threat, according to IBM. Almost 50 percent of companies analyzed run at least one dating app on mobile devices used to access business information. Businesses can avoid embarrassment, though, by adopting the right protection, defining downloadable apps, educating employees, and communicating potential threats.

For more, see PCMag's lineup of The Best Online Dating Sites, as well as our 69 Digital Dating Tips.