Regardless of how you feel about social media—if you’re an avid user or barely touch it—we all know that the more you post, the more information is available about you online for others to see. In addition, many of the social media apps can “harvest” data from the devices on which they reside – like contacts, phone numbers, and email addresses.
If you overshare and you do not have adequate privacy settings, cybercriminals can gather personal information to fuel cyber attacks like phishing, identity theft, malware or extortion. These attacks can be highly effective since they can be more tailored and targeted to potential victims. Be wary of:
- Profiles with model-like photos
- Profiles with few connections
- Generic profile information
- Direct messages from users posing as government officials
- Copyright violations
Your social media use could even affect the University’s security. Sharing text or images of your work team could make it easier for an attacker to gain the information they need. Take care that photographs in the University’s environment don’t contain sensitive information that might be found on walls, whiteboards, or even computer screens.
Consider these questions:
- When was the last time you Googled yourself?
- What do you think you would find if you do?
- Do your social media profiles appear in internet searches?
- Who can see and access the content that you post?
- Do you have privacy settings applied on your social media accounts?
Given these concerns, how do you stay social but also secure? Here are a few suggestions:
- Do not accept friend requests or follow requests from people you do not know.
- Apply privacy settings that prevent strangers from viewing your content.
- Do not overshare on social media.
- Do not click on links in posts or advertisements.
- Update your passwords frequently.
- Apply multi-factor authentication to your accounts.