5 Bad social media habits that can compromise your business’s cybersecurity

5 Bad social media habits that can compromise your business’s cybersecurity

Social media is one of the best tools you can use today to grow your business. It can help you:

  • Discover what people are saying about your brand
  • Engage with your customers
  • Build customer loyalty
  • Improve your market reach
  • Grow your website traffic and improve the website’s search engine ranking
  • Monitor your competitors

While utilizing social media offers plenty of benefits, it can also expose you to security risks, such as attackers looking to steal your sensitive data. Let’s take a look at some of the bad habits that can compromise your business’s cybersecurity:

While utilizing social media offers plenty of benefits, it can also expose you to security risks, such as attackers looking to steal your sensitive data.

1. Having unattended social media accounts

It’s ideal for your business to have an account on every social media platform, as this allows you to maintain a consistent presence across platforms. However, do not ignore the accounts that you don’t use often or have stopped using. This is because unmonitored social accounts can be hacked and used by cybercriminals to post fraudulent or malware-laden messages, making you appear unreliable to your customers.

To prevent this scenario from happening, regularly post content on all your social media accounts. This way, cybercriminals will know that your account is active and regularly maintained, so they’ll avoid it and move on to those that are unattended and thus, more vulnerable. You can also simply maintain the accounts that have high social media engagement and deactivate the rest.

Related article: 7 Simple social media hacks any small business can try

2. Failing to consider insider threats

An insider threat is a security risk that comes from within the business itself. It can either be accidental or intentional and caused by current or former employees, contractors, or business associates.

How are insider threats and social media connected? For one, an employee handling your social media accounts may accidentally interact with a fraudulent account, download malware, or click on a phishing link. Additionally, a dissatisfied employee may upload inappropriate content to your accounts or talk negatively about your company.

To secure your social media accounts, make sure that only certain people can post on your accounts. And if one of them leaves the company, immediately revoke their social media account privileges. Finally, perform regular cybersecurity awareness training so that your employees know how to protect themselves — and your business — from online threats.

3. Using the same password across all social media accounts

This is one of the biggest mistakes that any business could commit. If your Instagram account gets hacked, for instance, cybercriminals can use the same password to access your other social media accounts.

To avoid this risk, always use a strong and unique password for every social media account. You can also use password managers like LastPass and 1Password to securely store and manage all of your login credentials.

It’s also a good idea to enable multifactor authentication (MFA) when available. MFA requires an additional authentication factor on top of passwords, such as a one-time passcode, app notification, a facial or fingerprint scan, or a physical key. This way, even if an attacker manages to steal your Facebook login credentials, they won’t be able to access the account without providing the subsequent authentication requirements.

4. Using unsecured mobile devices

Thanks to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, posting on social media only takes a few taps. However, businesses need to ensure that these devices aren’t misused. If your company phone gets stolen, for instance, anyone can access your social media accounts and send malicious content to your audience.

Mitigate this risk by securing your mobile devices with a PIN, password, or fingerprint scan. Limit the number of devices that can access your social media accounts as well. Finally, use mobile data management software that can wipe data from your mobile devices in case these devices are lost or stolen.

5. Oversharing information

When promoting your business on social media, avoid sharing personal information like your birthdate, current address, education, personal email address, and mobile number. These data can be used by cybercriminals to commit identity theft against you and your business. For instance, they can launch a CEO fraud attack where they impersonate you to trick your employees into wiring money to a bank account in their possession.

Social media should be your California business’s secret weapon, not your kryptonite. To learn more about essential cybersecurity solutions your organization needs to stay secure online, download our FREE eBook today.

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