PEOPLE are being warned not to over-share on social media platforms by a North-East cybersecurity firm, who says "loose lips sink ships".

Matt Hewison, director of Seaham cyber firm CyberWhite, is warning people against sharing photos in real-time or checking in on Facebook as it exposes risk.

The boss urges people to think about famous War II propaganda posters that said 'loose lips sink ships’.

Mr Hewison said: "It is still true today. Unguarded talk can cost you and your family. Checking in and sharing photos could be inadvertently exposing your home to burglary.

"Over sharing opens people up to social engineering, online scams, bribery, blackmail and ultimately, reputational and financial loss."

Many forms of social engineering have taken place since

Cambridge Analyica determined people’s personality type and micro-targeted relevant messages to influence behaviour.

This summer, Twitter accounts of major companies and high-profile people were hacked as the result of a bitcoin scam, which earned subsequently its creators nearly $120,000 by influencing each account's followers.

Cybersecurity expert Mr Hewison urges people to think about how they would protect themselves in-person, and then "build another wall, but online".

He said: "When we were young, the school bully might have demanded our dinner money. We did our best to get through it, talking our way out of the situation or even by standing up for ourselves physically.

"Things moved on and we collected battle scars from the occasional scuffle in the school playground, through to something a little more dramatic, invariably fuelled by alcohol in the pub. As the years passed, we matured and made a home for ourselves. Our priorities change and we become more concerned with how to protect our belongings and those who live with us.

"Nothing has changed other than the fact that these threats, and our vulnerabilities, have moved online. The school bully is still there."