What are you sharing on Social Media?
Posted on December 15, 2023 by Kayleigh Wilkinson
We all post a lot on social media these days. Personal and work content across a multitude of platforms. But do we really stop to consider the cyber safety of what we are posting?
Complacency is one of our most dangerous attributes. When doing something you have done dozens of times before on autopilot, you can forget to ask yourself these simple questions:
- Work content – Is the platform secure? Is your data protected?
- Personal content – Who has access after posting? Does everyone in the image consent to the share?
A telecoms company in Germany ran a campaign to help raise awareness of how content being shared in the public domain can impact us. Especially with new Gen AI tools available and easily accessible.
You can watch this very powerful video here. (Disclaimer some viewers may find the content disturbing. Viewer discretion advised. There is swearing in the video and suggestion of explicit photos).
For those with children this might be quite a shock and we urge you to take a moment to think about not just your own use of social media but also family members, some of whom due to age or naivety might be blissfully unaware of this type of thing.
Another thing to consider, which is not mentioned in the video is that with the rise of gen AI tools and how easy they are to use. The malicious actor, the person leaving comments, the constant messaging could just be the school bully under a guise!
It is imperative that we stay aware of the data we’re sharing, whether it be a photo of a loved one or that sensitive work document.
Our call to action for you:
- Share this! Pass on your knowledge and awareness, especially to those who are most vulnerable (like your parents or grandparents).
- Review your social media considering the following questions:
- Who are your friends? Do you know them?
- Do you post publicly?
- What are your privacy settings?
- Is MFA enabled?
- Do you have good password hygiene?
- What 3rd party apps have access to your account?
- Each time you post, whether it is personal or work content stop and ask yourself “Should I be posting this?”
- Never share work documents on your personal social media.
All social media settings are accessible to you, you can lock your account down as much as you wish. If you are not sure how, there are user friendly guides on all social media platforms.
How can we help you?
We’d love to talk to you about your specific IT needs, and we’d be happy to offer a no obligation assessment of your current IT set up. Whether you are at a point of organisational change, unsure about security, or just want to sanity check your current IT arrangements, we’re here to help.
