Social Media Security – Do’s and Don’ts

Cyber security is one of the most imperative concerns raised in today’s modern technological era. Traditionally, managing personal information was comparatively easier and limited to the boundary’s physical security. However, the advent of the internet coupled with the enormous uptake of e-commerce and social media has blown the issue out of proportion. Cyber security is now the most imperative concern in today’s digital world.

E-commerce websites are less prone to security attacks since they follow strict security standards and strong 128-bit encryption technologies. On the other hand, social media websites are embraced by unsecured Web 2.0 technologies that promote collaboration and sharing – a hacker’s delight. These sites are relatively easy to hack and present hackers with much more return-on-investment. They could sell the data for prices ranging from USD 25-50 per 1000 accounts, depending on the number of contacts the user has on their account. This data could then be harvested by scammers and phishers to start money scams and spam campaigns, distribute malware and for many other nefarious purposes.

The state of affairs turn uglier when social media is accessed through corporate networks. It not only puts personal user information at risk, but also classified corporate data is in harm’s way. With more and more organisations embracing social media, it won’t be long before it turns into a happy hunting ground for hackers.

Since most people access social network sites from the comfort and privacy of their homes or offices, they can be lulled into a false sense of anonymity. Moreover, people naturally trust these sites because they are based on a network of friends and acquaintances, so people are more likely to click on a link sent by social media than through e-mail. Social network sites are potentially useful business tools and mediums of interaction, but only if you approach them with an adequate amount of caution and common sense.

Here are a few basic tips that could go a long way in protecting your online information:

•  All major social networking websites have privacy settings; use them to safeguard sensitive personal information. Besides your email address, this includes your home address and phone number. Bits and pieces of such vital information can be used to obtain other identity information – even your bank details.
• Treat everything you see with a high degree of scepticism. Never click on links just because you know the sender – my own email account had been compromised and my entire contacts list was spammed with marketing mails . Also, beware of using third-party applications on social networking websites such as Facebook since these applications access all your personal information stored on the site.
• Never accept friend requests from unknown people on social network sites – because 99 percent of the time the requests are from dummy profiles created by hackers to gain complete and easy access to all your personal details.
• And lastly some common rules to be followed while roaming in the digital world; regularly change your passwords and use an alpha-numeric code for higher security. Moreover, keep your firewalls and security software up-to-date.
• In case of private organisations and companies – they must create strict policies on the usage of social media tools and networking sites, or better still restrict access only to certain terminals.