Security Threats within the Social Media Arena

The development of social media has altered the way we must react to security threats and requires us to address the usage of these sites to minimize attacks that can cripple our systems. Businesses are vulnerable to cyber-attacks and must be prepared to defend their systems to ensure a virus-free operating arena. Potential attacks are growing with the increase and popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Security Shortfall Studies

The website, AsiaOne.com, listed a research study conducted by the Ponemon Institute with conducted an in-depth study of 4,460 IT and IT-security users. Their users averaged ten years of experience within their chosen field and stretched from the United States, Mexico, Singapore, Canada, France, India, Hong Kong, Britain, Australia, Germany and Italy. The survey focused on the unrealistic ability of companies to avoid the emergence of social media and the role it increasingly plays in business.

Tom Clare, who is senior director of product marketing, had this to say: "Social media is the new communication platform being fuelled by the cloud and mobile technologies that employees are bringing to the workplace" and  “while anti-virus and firewalls are traditional pillars of security defense for companies, they need to find new solutions for dynamic Web content classification, advanced threat blocking and data-theft protection.” 

Businesses must address their security shortfalls to avoid being victimized by attacks from viruses and malware. The social media is advancing at a rate that defies the old-school firewalls and anti-virus programs. Real-time programs that analyze links as they appear must be implemented to increase company security.  Mr. Clare added: “Sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn change too rapidly to rely on traditional background analysis and security-software update cycles."  

Making Social Media Security Changes

Employers must issue guidelines to direct the social media usage of their employees. Hackers have been known to inject malicious codes into social networking sites, advertisements within a website, and by-way-of third-party apps. For example, Twitter is especially vulnerable. Users can be easily manipulated into browsing a malicious site that extorts personal and company information.     

The seriousness of this issue cannot be overstated. Businesses that do not take this matter seriously are at risk for exposure to corporate espionage, loss of pertinent data, and theft of confidential employee information.  And, not to mention the public embarrassment of a serious breech of computer security which looks unprofessional and can damage and alter your public image.

Tips on Protecting Your Social Network

An article on ZDNet offered some great tips on how to protect your social media presence:

• Beware of messages with a link inside.  
• Ask yourself if the message you’re reading is from who it claims to be.  
• A lot of social engineering sleight of hands used by social networking sites rely on teasing the victim into watching a video, so be cautious about clicking on videos.
• Don’t browse the Web with a system that’s not up-to-date with security updates.  
• Get help from anti-virus software.  

Your Experiences

Have you experienced any security threats with social media and social networks? Share your stories with our readers below.