Many businesses nowadays leverage social media platforms to promote their company and build relationships with their target audience. Having a strong social media presence has become an essential factor in business success. However, just like the rest of the online world, social media is also vulnerable to security threats and data breaches that can not only ruin your reputation, but also damage your entire business.
Even though social media platforms implement strong security measures to keep their users safe, cyber threats can still manage to slip through the defenses. That’s why it’s important to have your own security measures, in order to maintain good cybersecurity on social media networks. That way, you can protect both your customers and your organization from harm. Here are a few of the best cybersecurity practices for social media.
Use strong passwords
Many people underestimate the power of using strong and complex passwords. That includes various businesses that build their presence on social media platforms. A strong password contains upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers. It’s also between 12 and 20 characters long. However, many people find this inconvenient and difficult to remember, so instead, they use simple passwords, such as “1234”. It’s important to understand that the more complex the password is, the more difficult it is to hack it.
Moreover, don’t use the same password for multiple social media accounts, because if one account gets breached, you lose the control of the rest of them. In addition, don’t store your password on your computer or mobile device. Instead, if it’s too difficult to memorize, write it on a piece of paper and keep it somewhere safe.
What’s more, it doesn’t hurt to add an extra layer of security to your social media accounts. For instance, MFA (Multi-factor authentication) adds an additional method of authentication. Aside from log-in credentials, you’re required to include a security token you receive as a message on your phone.
Obtain cybersecurity software
In the modern day and age, it’s essential for every business to have proper security software in place, in order to detect and prevent cybersecurity threats. The main reason is that security threats are constantly changing and evolving, while hackers become more and more sophisticated. Good security software can ward off any potential threats that serve a purpose of breaching your security and stealing your sensitive information. For instance, anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-ransomware and other software is a must-have for any organization that operates online.
In addition, you can opt for a managed security solution that will help you monitor your network constantly. What’s more, you can scale your security based on your business needs, so that you can ensure you’re protected at all times.
Develop a social media policy
Social media policy is a guideline for both your organization and its employees on how to act and behave on social media. It sets rules and regulations about what company information can and cannot be disclosed over social media networks. Your employees have their personal accounts, but they can also share company information on their private feeds.
However, it’s important to understand how that information may be used to harm your company. For example, hackers can leverage that information to target your business or your employees in order to breach security. Disclosing sensitive information may also hurt your business reputation and so on.
Social media policy helps maintain consistency throughout your social media accounts. It helps minimize security risks, as well as help protect your business from legal and copyright issues. Implementing a policy will help all members of your company understand social media and the risks that may occur there.
Make sure that your business is compliant with cybersecurity regulations in your country. For example, in Australia, your business must be compliant with Data Retention Law and the Information Security Manual created by the Australian Signals Directorate. On the other hand, companies targeting the EU customers should adapt their social media strategy to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Educate your employees
If you already have a strong social media presence and social following, chances are that you have multiple employees managing your social media accounts. However, human error is one of the top reasons why cybersecurity attacks are successful. That’s why it’s of the utmost importance to educate your employees and not just those who manage your account, but every employee in your company as well. Security threats can come from almost anywhere.
Opening an infected email or clicking on a phishing scam link is enough to compromise your security. This is especially true for social media accounts, where you receive a lot of email each day. You must instruct employees and help them recognize the most common threats, as well as how to avoid them. Moreover, you must educate them on what to do in case a security breach actually happens.
The more informed and educated your employees are, the less chance of them accidentally falling for a scam or some other potential threat. Social media platforms are quite beneficial to any business that builds their online presence there. However, as beneficial social media can be, you must still focus on cybersecurity and threats that lurk in the online world. With the right cybersecurity measures in place and by following the best practices, you minimize the risks of data breaches.
That way, you can effectively protect both your business and your customers as well. Do you think these are some of the Best Cybersecurity Practices for Social Media? If not, let us hear about it in the comments.
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