While the widespread influence of
social networking is undeniable, this convenient way of sharing
information is not without consequences. Because of their increasing
popularity, their ability to span multiple platforms and the lack of
concern amongst users, social networking sites have become an easy
target for cyber-criminals.
In the field of information security,
it is widely regarded that a system is only as safe as its weakest
link. While most major social networking websites have a sizable team
of security experts devoted to keeping networks and systems safe from
intrusion, security issues within social media is not (usually)
caused by poorly designed security systems. The main concern in
regards to security in social networking is the amount of care taken
by users to keep their data sensitive data out of harm's way. This is
a problem both for businesses and individuals who use social media
for personal reasons. The users of these platforms often have little
to no knowledge of good data security practices and often resist
taking precautions such as encrypting data and creating passwords
long enough to resist brute force attacks. Many users are also
vulnerable to social engineering and will willingly give sensitive
information to attackers posing to be part of the system they are
using.
As social media becomes a bigger part
of our lives, it is important to adopt safe data security practices.
When one's identity is tied to a social media site, they risk
everything from public embarrassment to identity theft when they
don't do a good job of protecting their data. Don't let yourself be
the weakest link in your own data protection plan!
It's interesting that the only way to really make a system as a whole more secure is to teach the people using in how to not become liabilities. As encryption becomes better and better, and alternate login techniques and strategies like using biometric data and two-factor authentication, people are increasingly becoming the biggest security risk for supposedly secure systems. It will only become a bigger problem, and it remains to be seen whether the solution will be to better train the users, or design a system such that a user's ability to compromise their own security is a near impossibility.
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