What We Need To Know About Cybersecurity on Social Media and with Personal Brands

by ​Brenda Allen, Guest Contributor

​It’s almost impossible to ignore social media in contemporary society. Today, almost everybody has a presence in social media. Many businesses are also promoting products and services over social platforms. This has made things easier for everybody including students, presidents and stars. In fact, modern internet users recommend or refer friends to the best services and products over social media. Nevertheless, this has come with cybersecurity issues that some people don’t know about.

Are you at risk on social media platforms?

Some of these issues have the potential to affect organizational and personal brands negatively. Unfortunately, some of these issues are not well understood. It’s therefore important to know the truth and fiction about the use of social media as well as cybersecurity.

Information Posted on Social Media Poses Risk to Organizations and Personal Brands
Some people think that the information they post on social media does not pose a risk to their organization or personal brand. However, this is not true. The fact is that social platforms are avenues where people interact casually. And, it’s easy to let important personal information slip consciously or unconsciously. This poses a risk.

Additionally, attackers can use social media as their reconnaissance tool when they want to engineer targets. For instance, when you tell the world that you attended a leadership conference, attackers can use this information to conduct phishing activities.

Social platforms like LinkedIn can also be used to mine the email addresses of employees. Even when you tell the world that you are looking for writing jobs, this information can be used against your organization or brand.

How to Keep Personal Info Personal
To avoid being a victim of cybersecurity issues, you must keep personal information personal. Always bear in mind the fact that attackers will always be attracted to social media.

It’s therefore important that you avoid disclosing information that may be used against you or your organization over social media. Essentially, always mind your organizational or personal brand while posting any information on social media platforms.

For organizations, employees should be discouraged from attaching personal social media accounts to organizational accounts. If there is no way to avoid this, employees should be educated on basic cybersecurity measures. And, if they already know them, refresher courses should be offered regularly. Even when a student uses a writing service online, they should exercise caution when disclosing personal and financial information.

Organizations should also stay ahead of cyber threats by implementing an organizational social media policy. In most cases, a social media policy focuses on the conduct of employees and their interactions with their organizations over the social media. However, security concerns should be addressed by a social media policy as well. This should incorporate aspects like password guidelines and account access.

The Bottom Line
Cybersecurity might not be a concern for many people. However, it still poses a risk to organizations and individuals because it always attracts attackers. Therefore, whether you are an organization employee or a freelancer looking for jobs online, it’s important to always bear these things in mind.
​​

About the author:
​
Hi! I'm Brenda Allen – English language teacher by profession and writing services online provider. I've started my personal freelance career at school at WritersDepartment and today I can certainly say that it was a great decision. My skills grew a lot. I've gained a necessary experience to teach creative writing and ensure my personal security online. ​

Use the code: 8078 for 10% off!

Use for any ticket purchase, anytime!