When increasing your business’s brand awareness, no tool does it better today than social media. By promoting your business on Facebook and Twitter, you not only get to serve your customers directly, but you also reach new customers in Campbell, California and neighboring states.
What’s the connection between social media and cybersecurity?
Being on social media isn’t just about promoting your business. It also involves keeping your organization safe from cybercriminals who want to steal your sensitive information. Because social media relies on interacting with your customers, some people might use the platform to defame your business and ruin your reputation.
For instance, your competition may hack into your social media accounts and make malicious statements that may displease your customers. Some cybercriminals may even inject malware into your social media accounts to steal your clients’ information.
How can I secure my business’s social media accounts?
Here are some social media mistakes you should avoid to protect your business:
1. Using the same password for all your accounts
If you use one password across all social media platforms and your Facebook password gets stolen, cybercriminals can also take over your other social media accounts to lock you out, steal your confidential information, or damage your reputation.
Even Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg was revealed to be using only one password on his social media accounts, which were all eventually compromised. This shows that even big names are struggling to prevent social media account takeover.
To mitigate this risk, use different passwords for all of your social media accounts. Make sure they can’t be guessed easily, and change them often to reduce the chances of future data breaches. You can also use password managers such as LastPass and Keeper, which will handle all your passwords and log you in automatically to each of your accounts.
2. Revealing too much information
Be careful when promoting your business on social media. Avoid sharing personal information such as your birthdate, names of family members, mobile numbers, current residence, and personal email address.
This information can be used by cybercriminals to carry out business email compromise attacks. For instance, cybercriminals can impersonate you to trick people in your company into wiring money to a fraudulent bank account or stealing more company information.
3. Accessing accounts using unsecured devices
Mobile devices make posting on social media much easier these days. But this also poses the challenge of preventing these devices from falling into the wrong hands. If a company smartphone gets stolen, your social media accounts can easily be taken over and used to send out phishing scams.
To mitigate this, assign only certain devices to handle your social media initiatives, enable multifactor authentication, and deploy a mobile device management system to regulate the access of company data on mobile devices. This way, even if a cybercriminal gets ahold of one of your devices, they cannot easily hack into your social media accounts.
4. Failing to consider human error and insider threats
Cybercriminals outside your company aren’t the only ones who can compromise your business’s cybersecurity — this may also involve your own employees. In fact, it is believed that insiders are a bigger threat than outsiders, as they already have physical access to your assets.
For instance, an employee handling your social media may unwittingly click on a phishing link or interact with a fraudulent account. Another employee may intentionally download malware and send your sensitive information to cybercriminals who will use the data for their own gain.
Keep your social media account secure by limiting access privileges. Not everyone in your social media team should have complete access to your accounts. If someone leaves the company, their privileges should be immediately revoked. Lastly, conduct regular security awareness training to teach your employees how to handle cyberthreats.
5. Having idle social media accounts
Being accessible on various social media platforms makes it easier for your customers to reach you. Aside from mainstream sites like Facebook and Twitter, you can also connect with your audience on platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.
There will be some sites that you may not devote a lot of time to, however, especially those that may not engage customers well. As much as possible, do not leave any social media account idle, as it may be hacked by cybercriminals to post fraudulent messages to defame your business, making your followers’ lose trust in your brand.
Better cybersecurity for your business starts with a reliable managed IT services provider (MSP). Our ERGOSShield solution promotes better security while improving productivity. To learn how your business can benefit from an MSP, download our FREE eBook and contact us today.
ARE YOUR OWN BELIEFS AFFECTING YOUR BUSINESS?
Your beliefs have a much bigger impact on your business than you think. They affect the decisions you make, the investments you pursue, and how far you’re willing to take your brand.