Brands and Brand Leaders Concerned About Recent Social Media Hacks

You may have read in the news recently that the NFL advised teams lock down many of their social media accounts temporarily after a potential cyber security breach. Fortunately, the risk appeared to be thwarted though many businesses are on high alert as hackers are continuously making attempts to break into social channels It goes without saying, in today’s day and age cyberattacks may be the biggest threat to business. With criminals looking to monetize their breaches, it’s no wonder some brands, including their CEOs, are paying close attention to technology and security around social media. Here at ICUC, we believe in the power of social media for good, though understand the concerns about cybersecurity, data breaches, and brands inadvertently perpetuating dangerous propaganda. In navigating this landscape, our ICUC Technology team has developed a top five list of recommendations to ensure your account security.

1. Change your password. Do it soon and often. We recommend at least every 90 days. Hackers often sell old passwords, so a fresh password is a safe password.
2. Use Multi-Factor Authentication [MFA] whenever possible. Most social media platforms allow you to add this layer of security which makes remote access much more difficult.
3. Never allow your browser to remember your site passwords. Use a secure password manager like LastPass, Keeper, or 1Password instead
4. Keep personal information out of social media. The more facts about you a hacker has, the easier it is to assume your identity.
5. Be sceptical about any communication asking you to click a link or provide some information. Phishing attacks are extremely common and potentially disastrous. When in doubt, don’t open anything you were not expecting and take time to verify that the source. It is very easy to spoof an email sender or a caller ID.

Additionally, in order to promote a safe social media space for all users, we believe strongly in helping to refute falsehoods shared online. As a brand, you can support this by only sharing content from credible resources that cite their sources, reinforce data, and flag fake accounts when discovered or suspected directly to the social channel.