Phishing remains one of today’s biggest cyber security threats. 90% of all recent data breaches begin with a phishing email. It is the method of choice by cyber criminals to deliver malware such as ransomware and all other forms cyber fraud. However, when individuals begin to SHIFT + DELETE, the phishing emails, cyber criminals begin attaching much better bait.
Social media apps and websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn become the repositories for more insider information that makes the phishing email much more tempting to click.
Although these platforms are a great ways to stay connected with friends and others, consider the following social media security tips to safely enjoy social media for personal or business use.
Delete or deactivate old, unused accounts: Check to ensure accounts that you no longer use have been deactivated. There have been cases in which old accounts were being used as social engineering methods.
Become familiar with the privacy settings: Privacy settings exist for a reason and it is important to keep privacy top of mind when it comes to social media. Privacy settings can help you increase the control you have over how your personal information is handled online.
Be cautious about sharing too much personal information: The more personal information you share, the easier it may be for a criminal or someone else to use that information to steal your identity.
Use a strong password: Our lives exist almost completely online with our personal information guarded by password protection. The longer your password phrase is, the more secure your social media accounts will be.
Use unique passwords for each social media account: Using the same password makes it easy for hackers to gain access to all your accounts. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that you do not use the same password for Facebook as you do for Twitter, or other social media platforms.
Regularly check your mailbox to see if there are suspicious login attempts: The suspicious login attempts appear when your social media accounts are accessed from an unverified new device. To help protect your account, the platform you are using will send you an email when the system notices unusual sign-in activity, so check your mailbox to see suspicious account activities, if any.
Verify who you are connecting with: We advise you to be selective with friend requests and think twice before you accept the request. If you do not know the person, it is better not to accept their request as it could be a fake account. Simply put, when you accept a request, the information and photos on your account that were restricted from public view become viewable by your new friend. We believe that it is not a good idea if you let a total stranger see the information or images on your social media account.
Stay educated, stay secure
Now more than ever it is critical for nearly everybody to stay educated on cyber security and the digital future. It is becoming more apparent that social media is the best way to connect with people across the world.
-Brian Banks, Internal Information Security Officer