New technology has been a constant challenge for IT professionals and chief information officers in the private and public sectors throughout the past several years. While devices and applications have certainly been difficult to control and secure, access management has been one of the more progressive challenges facing enterprises, healthcare organizations and the public sector today.
Social networks are among the most overlooked areas in which employees, vendors or other entities might be putting organizations at risk. When formulating an identity management strategy, decision-makers should always ensure that they are taking social media into account, as failure to do so can lead to significant vulnerabilities in access control.
Top social media risks
Network World pointed to several social media risks that have been around for several years, including mobile apps and employee use. Information travels incredibly quickly in the modern enterprise landscape, and employee missteps are the most common causes of breach among firms in North America and abroad. Social media, in many ways, has intensified this issue.
The news provider also pointed out that social media policies are a rarity in business, but are critical to maintaining security and identity management performances in the modern organization.
Here are several other risks social media presents from an identity management standpoint:
- Advanced spam: The sharing economy has led to some of the most tricky spam to date, while one user errantly clicking on an incendiary link will lead to malware spreading like wildfire. Businesses must ensure that their staff members are aware of the risks of spam and fraudulent communications coming through social channels.
- Obfuscation: Tweets have to be 140 characters or less, and many users enjoy linking to other websites, resources or the like. As such, they use URL shortener services which will mask the actual address. Especially when employees are using the same devices for personal and business activities, they should know to not click on obfuscated links.
- Consistently weak passwords: Authentication measures have not yet made it into the social media world, which has led to countless hacks and lost personal information. Take for example the recent SnapChat, Twitter and Facebook security breaches, all of which led to exposed personal user information. Businesses should consider implementing their own authentication measures to avoid victimization.
- Ill-advised comfort: Social media is not necessarily a popular environment for individuals to share sensitive corporate or personal information. For this reason, many users might believe that nothing could really go wrong. However, hackers can use the personal information stored on these accounts to steal identities.
What can be done?
Business leaders, as well as healthcare executives and public sector officials, must be more proactive and take ownership of their identity management responsibilities. Social media is a powerful communication tool from a business standpoint, from helping build relationships among employees to driving brand recognition. As such, it should not simply be avoided.
Instead, organizations can deploy multi-factor authentication solutions to keep sensitive information secure and be more progressive in identity management strategies.
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