4 Social Media Security Risks & How They Can Be Avoided

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are being used more and more by businesses looking to engage with their followers and customers, with millions of pounds being spent per year on social media marketing and advertising. 

Unfortunately however, like anything in life, social media has it’s fair share of risks too. From hackers to trolls to other malicious agents, there’s a lot of security risks out there for businesses using social media and with social media being so critical for many brands, it’s important to avoid these risks wherever possible. 

In order to take the best steps to protect themselves brands must ensure that they know what these risks are, staying educated on everything that could possibly go wrong and knowing exactly how to combat them when they do. 

Let’s take a look at 4 of the most common social media security risks that your business should be looking to avoid.  

Human Error

Even the most responsible employees can have a lapse in judgment and make mistakes, from sending out the wrong tweets, to accidentally clicking on scam links, one of the most common security threats out there is in fact just simple human error. By not paying attention to your social media accounts or leaving your accounts unmonitored you can also put your social media at risk of being infected by viruses and spam, leaving your accounts vulnerable and increasing the risk of these spreading to your followers. 

Phishing Scams 

Phishing scams often use social media to trick people into giving their personal details such as bank details and passwords. Last year phishing attempts on social media grew even more, with many targeting customer support accounts on Facebook and Twitter. These phishing scams can take many forms, however the most common is through messaging people a link, which would automatically download a file to their computer that would use their social media account to continue sharing the message. 

Security Settings 

When it comes to your social media, privacy and security is important, yet there are many businesses out there who continue to put their reputations at risk by failing to implement privacy settings. Due to this, it’s becoming easier for hackers to easily hack into and control a businesses social media accounts, causing havoc as they go, be it through sending messages to your followers, posting offensive content or making changes to the social media accounts appearance.  

Malicious Apps

Malicious apps and spyware have quickly made their way onto social media and while it’s not easy to pass viruses through sites like Facebook, it has become much easier for hackers to compromise the apps that you may be using for your social media management. If you’re looking to avoid this then it’s a good idea to have strong anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed and updated in order to help decrease the risk of these viruses getting through. 

Social media gives brands a number of opportunities, letting you grow your audience and helping you connect with your customers in a fun and creative way. If you’re looking to make the most of your social media then you need to be aware of the risks involved, arming yourself with the best plan for dealing with them in a way that is likely to protect your business and keep it running in the most effective way!