In the last 15 years, social networks have become the main means of attraction for Internet users. At the same time, cyber-attackers are taking advantage of these channels pursuing new opportunities for scamming and phishing. It’s, therefore, necessary to take measures to protect profiles on social networks from future attacks.
In fact, according to the annual statistics report presented by We Are Social and Hootsuite, social networks had a total of 3.96 billion active users by July 2020. By the same time, the world population had risen to 7.79 billion people. That means that at least 51% of individuals across the planet use social networks.
The dark side of having a presence in social networks (even for businesses)
However, digital criminals know how to take advantage of this trend. Bromium says that these cybercriminals have earned over $3B from exploiting social media platforms.
As if that weren’t enough, the emerging company also shows that one out of five organizations have been infected with malware through these channels. This is a sign that companies with a presence in social media are also victims of illegal actions.
Faced by this situation, organizations are developing strategies to protect their social media accounts. One of the best ways to do this is through digital security tools such as BeyondTrust.
The solution: BeyondTrust’s Privileged Access Management
This data protection software offers different solutions for companies that make use of it. Especially those that need to shield their assets and information from possible cyber attacks, including profiles in social networks.
However, Privileged Access Management (PAM) is the right function for these circumstances. This includes other strategic actions such as password management and remote access, which are key to protecting your company’s social network profiles.
These features also allow you to strengthen the security models of social networks, especially those that are more popular. These models are considered “weak” by industry experts because they don’t:
- Obfuscate credentials
- Allow for one-to-many account access without sharing credentials
- Enforce an IP-based access control list (ACL)
- Provide session monitoring or session recording
Because of this, it’s important then that as the person responsible for your company’s security, you take the necessary measures to solve these vulnerabilities. This is where BeyondTrust comes in.
Best practices for protecting your company’s social networks with BeyondTrust’s features
Although these platforms’ security processes don’t ensure total protection, you can always apply the following actions to guarantee your company’s security in social media.
Don’t use your accounts to perform business functions
Keep your team members’ activity separate from your company’s obligations. This will ensure that internal threats and personal attacks don’t become future responsibilities for your company.
Create corporate accounts for each user with a specific role
However, don’t make everyone an administrator even if it seems convenient. Instead, follow the role-based delegation process when assigning your company’s privileges.
Make sure the passwords used for these accounts are unique and not shared
Make use of BeyondTrust’s password management function to strengthen your company’s social networking access keys. The process involves making them unique and not sharing them with other company resources. And, forbid your employees to use them as personal passwords.
Use two-factor authentication to secure each account
This will ensure that credentials that are compromised by cyber-attackers don’t result in violated accounts for your company.
Check that only the right users are accessing
Finally, reviewing constantly the access logs will let you know whether there are inappropriate authentication attempts or if successful logins come from known sources.
What are the results of working with BeyondTrust?
After applying each of these security tactics, your company’s social network profiles will be more protected. You will enjoy greater protection and an all-around protection tool will support you at all times.
Your user experience will include fast and secure access to your company’s accounts. BeyondTrust’s Privileged Access Management will ensure that all of your organization’s social networking activity is appropriate.
Meanwhile, if you consider that BeyondTrust is the solution for your company to secure its social network profiles, don’t hesitate to contact us immediately to provide you with a demo or a free trial of this tool.
