Social media have become an important part of our lives. Yet, you must implement strong cybersecurity in social media to keep your data safe.
The Positive Side of Social Media
Social media’s popularity is due to its ability to meet the interests and needs of most people. For instance, teens use it to socialize with friends and share the latest events of their lives. Meanwhile, adults also use social media to socialize while maintaining a professional manner.
Furthermore, businesses benefit from using social media. It is a cost-effective strategy to promote their brand and widen their network. However, it is easy to overlook the involved risks in using social media due to its many benefits.
The Dark Side
Threats of criminal activity are widespread on social media. Some of those threats are hacking, stalking, and identity theft. Hackers also use these platforms to lure victims into giving up their personal information. Thus, all of us must implement strong cybersecurity in social media at all times.
Best Practices Of Cybersecurity In Social Media
Observing these best cybersecurity practices at all times deters the efforts of hackers to compromise data.
Be Cautious of Sharing Too Much
Social media platforms enable users to share personal details with friends and followers. Sharing some information is fine. However, other facts can reveal too much about the identity of a person.
Thus, it is best not to reveal your date and place of birth. Moreover, do not reveal other personal details such as home address and phone number. Otherwise, you’ll be at serious risk for identity theft and fraud.
Furthermore, it is extremely important not to reveal any financial details and log-in credentials on any social networking site.
Adjust Privacy Settings
Nearly all social networking sites have default privacy settings. Yet, altering these privacy settings may give you an extra layer of protection. That is because it hinders strangers from viewing your private information.
Social media platforms also allow users to modify who will only see their status, posts, and other interactions. The more private your profile is, the better.
Verify Who You’re Connecting With
It’s easy to set up a social media account – and that can be alarming. A person may set up a fake account for a couple of reasons. For instance, hackers may create fake accounts to impersonate someone and make false statements.
Maybe their reason is to embarrass someone or to create problems. Moreover, hackers set up fake accounts to send people malware or committing fraud.
If you’re having doubts about the authenticity of an account, check with the individual for verification.
Be Careful of Over-Friending
There are tons of social media users with high numbers of friends and followers. However, having many friends or followers is not always positive. Some of these “friends” may introduce spam into your timeline or even have criminal intentions. Thus, you must only accept friend requests from people who are your actual friends.
Keep Passwords Strong
Passwords are the first line of defense against hackers. Use strong and unique passwords on each of your social media accounts. Change them once every three months.
