“OMG I can’t believe this picture of you here on www.fakephishingsite.com”, “I’ve wanted you since I met You”
Errr OK, but why is my accountant sending me tweets like this?
This week seems to have seen a pronounced increase in clearly hacked Twitter accounts and you could be next.
Take a few minutes to check your own security.
It’s spring so let’s prune your social media tree
Do old employees or contractors still have access to the Social media accounts even though they no longer need them?
Often a dormant or old email account will be compromised and with it, the password can then be applied to any known social media sites that account was associated with. Now come on…. You don’t use the same password for all your different accounts do you?
Different Passwords for each Social Media channel increase security
Yes, most people are guilty of having the same password for Twitter, Facebook and Google+. What this means is that of someone knows your password for 1, then they all can be compromised.
Use different passwords for each social media channel, and we don’t mean changing the last digit from 1 to 2!
Businesses with large social media followings will find that once compromised you can pretty much say good bye to that Twitter handle or Facebook account unless you act quickly
Keep your contact details up to date
If your account is compromised, the first thing to change is the admin privileges and the registered email account. This means the existing registered email will normally receive an email saying “lets us know if you didn’t authorise”. One more reason to ensure that the permissions are up to date.
Facebook Managers and Admins
Now this is a tough one. Snowflake Media manages Facebook, Twitter & Google+ for a number of small and high profile clients as the Manager. This is usually thanks to a great social media marketing reputation and good relationships. However you should seriously consider only allowing your agency to be a moderator or Content creator, especially in the early days.
This is a very basic starter on security, here are some good articles by other trusted sources:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/online-privacy/social-networking.aspx
http://blog.hootsuite.com/protect-social-media-accounts-avoid-phishing-attack/
Until next time!
Written by:
Lee Kenny
CEO: Snowflake Media
Protecting your Social Media Security