In an ever-evolving digital world where all devices are connected, there is an imperative need of maintaining strong security – And with good reason.
As of 2019, there were approximately 3.4 billion active social media users. That number is expected to increase at least 10% each year, so we can only expect that the number of hackers and malicious software will also increase.
Social media is a powerful tool. With all the information and tools available these platforms can be a magnificent instrument, whether for business purposes or for a bit of personal entertainment after a day of work.
On the downside, social platforms can give a lot of information about you and your contacts. For this reason, cyber-criminals are trying harder every day to figure out ways to steal your information. If you are not careful enough and put some cyber-security into practice you could even become a victim of identity theft.
At this point, you might be thinking to yourself:
“How do I protect myself from a cyber attack?”
First, you need to understand how attacks occur.
Malware & Viruses
Navigating on shady sites. Clicking on unsafe links. Installing unknown programs or apps. All of this can lead to a serious problem. In fact, even links found on social media platforms could propose a risk of infection. This occurs because hackers go where the numbers are.
Since there’s an incredible amount of social media users, there are also myriads of opportunities for these cyber-criminals. Social media managers are more the most exposed individuals, putting, at the same time, companies at risk.
Phishing & Social Engineering
Just like with those pesky emails that you might have received from an unknown address asking for your credentials so you can claim a price, but in the social media context. The thing here is that social media shares much more information by default.
We all know that passwords and other sensitive information should not be sent via email, let alone to an unknown address. But what do you do when you or an employee receive an email from “Facebook” asking to re-enter your address and password so you can prevent your account from being locked? Or maybe “Twitter” keeps sending you a password reset link.
Spear-Phishing cyber attack
Now, this one is more straightforward than normal phishing. Due to the amount of information available, hackers can impersonate your family members, friends and other users that you might be familiar with.
