Staying Secure in a Social Media World
The age of social media has let millions of people reconnect and stay up-to-date with family members, friends, ex-in-laws and acquaintances. It also continues to shape how we all communicate with each other. It’s important to keep a few things in mind before you check your newsfeed. There is no delete button on the Internet. Everyone knows how to capture a screenshot. Even if you keep your social media completely private, when relationships change, nothing is private. Are you going to be comfortable in 10 years with what you post today? It will be archived forever.
If you post in online forums or on message boards, or comment on news-related websites, consider using a pseudonym. Don’t share names of real businesses, clients, friends or family. If a bank manager wouldn’t allow a picture of all of the money in the vault to be shared on the Internet, you shouldn’t ever allow a picture containing any confidential, financial, legal or other protected documents and items to be shared either.
For businesses that use social media in the workplace, it’s important to remind employees to be careful about what is shared and what is clicked. You can be a victim of a cyber attack from social media.
Here are a few quick tips on what to watch for in the World of Social Media:
- Do Not Share Valuable Info. Make sure employees do not share valuable information about your business in a post. And be cautious about what is being shared. Sharing information that may be considered sensitive could fall into the hands of a cyber attacker. A social media post could give an attacker the information they need to steal personal company data. Share with your employees ahead of time what information is best to not be share and help avoid a harmful cyber attack.
- What You Post Online Can Be Permanent. Always a helpful reminder, whatever you post online is permanent. Even if you delete the post, you don’t know who already has seen the post and who has taken a photo or screenshot of it.
- Don’t Overshare. Remind employees not post too much information that can harm the company. Be mindful of what is shared on social media.
- Keep personal information off of social media. Don’t overshare personal information on social media websites. It’s a good rule of thumb to make sure to not share any details about your birth dates, addresses, information about family and so on. Keep private information private.
- You can get a virus from social media. Malware can hide in social media ads. Be careful about which ads you click. If an ad doesn’t look like a trusted source, then no point in clicking on the ad. It could have a virus that can spread and infect your whole database.
- Social media accounts can be fake. Watch out for phony fake social media accounts. This is another way hackers can obtain confidential information.
- Be aware of scams. Be careful of phishing scams. Hackers can use social media as a tool for phishing scams to trick people into handing over passwords, bank information, and other types of business data.
A good social media policy in the office can save headaches down the road. Please contact us with any questions about the safety and security of your office.
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