In the social media era, could a lack of social media security policies create serious risks for enterprise during 2018?
Mark James, ESET IT Security Specialist, looks into how fake news can affect enterprise in 2018, and how social media platforms have become such an easy target for hackers and fake news.
“The trouble with perceived “things” we cannot do without is being able to draw the line between work and private.
“From the perspective of the tech team, one of their problems is keeping the whole company safe through policies and procedures.
“Some of which involve clear lines and attack vectors; when you blur those lines through social media interaction in the workplace it can be difficult dealing with the level of trust involved through people you “think” you know.
“For instance if a friend through social media recommends something to watch or view, there is an extremely high chance you will do just that, after all you may have known them for years and in person are a trustworthy and valuable friend.
“The trouble is being able to validate that friendship through a digital platform which is a job that is not as easy as it sounds.
“In my opinion social media platforms have become an easy target for hackers due to body language, or the lack of.
“If I arrive at your house and ring your doorbell you may open the door and in a matter of seconds will have decided a number of factors: do you know the visitor? Are they agitated? Do they look happy or sad?
“But do that through a digital existence and you have none of those visual qualifiers.
“You can act with, or assume whoever you choose. If a trust relationship exists between the two parties then you can assume that trust and use it to your advantage.
“Fake news seems to be one of those events that most people don’t understand the dangers involved, because there is no actual danger as such it’s hard to see the problems caused.
“Some of the dangers are simply the ability to push as much traffic as possible to potentially infected websites or links, other dangers may be influencing public or even private events and often boils down to perception.
“Often more dangerous than the truth, we have come to trust our computer or mobile screens, we believe we understand the difference between fake and real news but it’s actually a lot harder than we think, purely because often we want to believe that the platform delivering the content is trustworthy.
“Education, policies and good practices are the way forward to ensuring the right news is available.
“A good multi-layered regular updated security software is essential and ensure your defences are also layered as best as you can possibly manage, it’s always better to be over than under protected.”
Are you allowed to use social media at work? Or is it banned outright? Let us know on Twitter @ESETUK.