Secure Value By Managing for Social Media Security and Privacy

The following question has been asked in several ways to me online and in the Q&A of speaking engagements I've recently done. It is a question you should be asking if you are using social media to run and grow your business.

What issues are there with social media security and privacy? How are they resolved? What can I do to prevent or reduce problems especially with Facebook and Twitter? Should we jump into the social media world?

1. You'll need to be prepared to be protected from viruses, malware, worms and a whole slew of other nasty software threats. You should be protected from those issues regardless of whether you Facebook or Tweet. Just connecting to the internet will expose you to these threats. Facebook and Twitter are just another delivery channel for what we call malware in the security industry.

The solution is protecting the endpoints in your business (speaking English that means your computers and your cell phones). A good endpoint security package is going to include a personal firewall, anti virus, and anti spam. My company is a big fan of Sophos end point products as they are partners of ours.

2. Privacy is about control. Don't publish details you don't want to be out in the open. The obvious no no is over publishing personal information. Giving too much away, in regards to travel or equipment purchases, etc. can expose you. There are documented cases of people tweeting on vacation only to come back to stolen electronics. A coincidence? Or a follower?

Nobody knows for certain but there is no reason to expose yourself. Be careful of geo tagging for the same reasons.

3. Understand social engineering techniques. Social engineering is when people online use old cons to trick you to do things they want. Get rich quick schemes, emails from people you don't know (particularly with downloads) and the like are typical concerns. We've dealt with cases of social engineering where enough detail was given on Facebook, Twitter, etc. that the attack actually came over the phone with people pretending to be people known to the victim.

4. Back your systems up. IF you are attacked you don't want to lose all your hard work.

Scary? Probably. But so frightening you should stay away? Hardly.

My firm is an 11 person information security firm that cautiously and correctly uses social media to run and grow our business.

The security and privacy situation is constantly changing in regards to social media. Get involved in social networking but set aside some time to become familiar with the security and privacy features of these tools (and their weaknesses). Don't listen to people that advise you to stay away from them; embrace them wisely and grow your business!