With Cyber-Security being front of mind for many IT Solution Providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), I’m handing over this blog article to guest contributor Nat Campbell.
Nat takes a look at the NatWest Safe & Secure survey to offer up a guide on typical questions for Social Media safety.
When anything related to the world of computers hits the news, you can guarantee there will be few questions from your clients and customers.
From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to the worries over how our personal information is being stockpiled, titans of the internet, like Facebook and Google, have been in the media recently over how they handle ‘data’.
The topic of social media is a particularly important one, for both us and our clients. It’s become a huge part of our daily lives and an essential tool for getting results in business. If your clients ask you for your opinion on how to approach social media security, it’s an important opportunity to add value.
How do people feel about social media?
The recent NatWest Safe & Secure survey suggests that people would like to see security on social media platforms enhanced. In fact, 56% of UK adults who took part in the study said they want tighter settings to protect their personal data. At the other end of the spectrum, only 8% didn’t see the need.
The social media platforms that a given client will find useful for their business depends heavily on the market they’re in and the channels their customers like to use. But what remains constant for any business owner is that what we share on our personal channels can impact our company’s reputation and online security – as well as our own.
Advice for our clients
It’s clear most people feel something needs to be done about security measures. What’s not clear for many is just how much of their information they should be sharing to start with. When you look at the most popular social platforms side-by-side, there are at least 31% of users who aren’t strict about what they share, as you can see from the table below.
How restrictive are we with our settings and what we share on social media?
Mikko Hypponen is the Chief Research Officer at F-Secure and an internationally recognised cybersecurity expert. His simple advice encourages us to think twice before we post or message, and it’s a good rule of thumb: “Never post anything online that you wouldn’t mind seeing posted on the cover of a newspaper,” he says. “Even if you think your post is not visible to everyone, it could very well be.”
Other things our clients might ask about online security
To help you anticipate some of the questions you might get from your clients, away from the topic of social media, here are the top three areas where online security habits aren’t up to scratch:
1. Make sure all devices, company and personal, are up to date and have the right security software. 22% of people don’t know what the best security software for their device is.
2. Learn how to make (and use) strong passwords. 41% use one password for more than one account and 53% save their passwords to their browser. From social media to banking, this could put our personal or company accounts at risk.
3. Come up with a fraud action plan. 22% wouldn’t know what to do if they were going through ‘online security problems’.
My thanks to Nat Campbell, for this guest post. Nat is a copywriter in the financial services industry.
Connect with Nat Campbell on LinkedIn
You can find Nat Campbell on Twitter.
Have your clients expressed concern about Social Media security? What are your own thoughts about security on social media platforms? I’d be interested in your feedback! Please post in the comments below.
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