It’s a well-known fact that successful businesses and influencers in any chosen industry utilize social media to an extent, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Instagram, or otherwise. All that said, however, in this connected world, one has to be aware of how this connection can influence cybersecurity. What are some ways you can keep yourself safe while using social media for either your business or your personal brand?
Here are four ways you can improve your social media security practices.
Be Selective with Friend and Follow Requests
The beauty of most social media is that you have full control over who you connect with and who can follow you. If you don’t want to connect with that suspicious account that you don’t recognize and only has a handful of friends, you don’t have to. Instead, we recommend that you only connect with those who you would want to connect with in the real world or those you can trust.
Set Your Profiles to Private
It stands to reason that one of the best ways to keep your social media profiles safe is to limit who can see your profile in the first place. By making it private, you give people the opportunity to connect with you on your terms. By making your profile private, you are limiting access to your sensitive information to only those who you have deemed trustworthy. Most social media accounts allow you to place these limitations on new viewers to your page, allowing you to effectively customize your own level of risk in a sense.
Stay Aware of How Much You Share
Remember how security questions often ask you things like “What is your pet’s name,” or “What is your mother’s maiden name?” Well, to those who are connected to you on social media, they might be able to farm this information just by glancing through your profile. This is why many people prefer to not post pictures or information about themselves or their families and instead opt to use social media as a connection tool more than anything else. We’re not saying you have to go that route, but we are saying to be careful with how much you share. Hackers and other criminals can use this information to your detriment if they were to uncover it somehow.
Stay Cognizant of Phishing Scams
Just because your account is safe from threats does not mean that others are taking the same precautions. Oftentimes you might encounter an account that has clearly been taken over by someone else in an attempt to use your friend’s account to trick others. You might receive messages from people who you have not heard from in years, or you might see them sharing suspicious links. Either way, it is important to not let your guard down and to try to confirm authenticity whenever you have doubts about your friends’ identities.
By keeping these four tips in mind, you are less likely to run into security problems while navigating and using social media. Do you have any horror stories about social media scammers, or do you know of anyone who had their profiles or accounts stolen as a result of poor security? Share your experiences with us in the comments below.
