SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY FOR BUSINESS.

22 October 2018

• cyber security
• cyber and data breach claims solicitors liverpool
• cyber and data breach claim
• data protection
• Employment law liverpool
• cyber and data breach law liverpool
• data breach
• employment law
• data privacy
• cyber attack
• Law blog
• Social media security for business
• fake accounts
• cybersecurity training
• malware
• cybercrime
• social media account takeover attempt

Experts believe that the greatest threat to an organisation is not its lack of cybersecurity, it is actually the employees who tend to cause the most damage.

This comes after 77% of survey respondents indicated that regardless of training and adherence to company policies, it is actually employees that are the main source of cyber-attacks, as they may be unaware of the warning signs. Therefore, it is vital that companies improve cybersecurity training by implementing ways for staff to protect, as well as how to conduct themselves online, especially on social media.

As social media is an integral part of engagement - and with that comes an inherent level of trust - meaning it is vital that everybody is aware of what is safe when positing content. This is particularly the case for employees who are responding to their customers, as they must be aware of online actors who utilise fake accounts in order to pose as customers and purposely target staff and the organisation.

There are many other risks that staff can be exposed to on social media including personal and corporate data leaks, cybercrime, malware, and even account takeover attempts. These risks must be implemented in to security training, ensuring that all staff can protect themselves to the best of their ability.

Fake accounts that target employees online usually aim to encourage the user to share confidential information or enter malicious links, which will result in a data breach. This could be detrimental to an organisation and in the past this has resulted in termination of contracts, fines, and overall distrust of the organisation.

Social media training is also important in order to protect the reputation of the organisation, with some companies seeing their staff as unofficial brand ambassadors for their company, and therefore must maintain the reputation of the company on their own personal accounts.

In order to avoid associations with the organisation they work for, some staff members may include statements such as “these views are my own” or “retweets are not endorsements” which suggest a separation from the business. However, this does not guarantee the separation, especially for senior members of staff. Therefore it is vital that they remain vigilant online, as even the simplest of mistakes have lasting effects on social media.

Organisations can empower staff to be vigilant online by making smart decisions and thinking before they post. Employers should consider the following methods:

• Review and update policies and procedures in accordance with new trends and emerging threats.
• Implement a social media task force with relevant staff who have the abilities to assess and prioritise risk, as well as establishing policies and procedures to all staff.
• Train employees on internal policies as well as social media protection security and privacy.

These methods can help reduce risk for any organisation as well as ensuring the safety of employees and the reputation of the company across all online platforms.

Here at Three Graces Legal we can assist your organisation with all aspects of employment law.

Please contact us on 0151 659 1070