Guide to Keeping Your Social Media Accounts Secure
Social media is an integral part of our lives. Cyberattacks are a real and present threat to the cyber security of our personal social media accounts. In this guide you will find the steps and contacts needed in order to be protective, preventative, prohibitive and proactive against cyber-attacks. If you suspect that you are being targeted or compromised by a malicious cyber-attack, you must be proactive and swift to mitigate this threat. The steps you take can help to greatly reduce the risk of exposure and vulnerability of attack to your personal information.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES
Use a strong password. At least 20 characters long that is either randomly-generated (like LauH6maicaza1Neez3zi) or a random string of words (like “hewn cloths titles yachts refine”). Use a unique password for each website or service you use; that way, if one account gets compromised, the rest are safe. If you use a public email provider, consider added precautions such as Gmail’s two-factor authentication. Don’t give your username and password out to untrusted third parties, especially those promising to get you followers or make you money.
Select third-party applications with care. There are thousands of applications built by external developers that allow you to do an array of neat things with your account. However, you should be cautious before giving up control of your account to someone else. Revoke access for any third-party application that you don’t recognize by visiting the Applications tab in your account settings. Make sure your computer and operating system is up-to-date with the most recent patches, upgrades, and anti-virus software, and that all your computers and mobile devices are protected by secure passwords.
PREPARATION CHECKLIST
Change your Twitter account passwords. Never send passwords via email, even internally. Keep your email accounts secure. Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc use email for password resets and official communication. Change your email passwords, and use a password different from your social media account passwords.
Review your authorized applications. Log in to Twitter or Facebook and review the applications authorized to access your accounts. If you don’t recognize any of the applications on Twitter, contact them immediately by filing a security ticket and emailing hacked@twitter.com.
Use extra security features. This will help keep your accounts protected. Facebook has a whole section on how to do that located here:
Log out of Facebook and Twitter when you use a computer you share with other people. If you forget, you can log out remotely.
Check for signs of compromise. Checking your email address and authorized apps weekly or monthly can help detect unauthorized access and address the problem before access is abused. Change your password regularly. Changing your social media passwords quarterly or yearly can reset the clock if a password has leaked. Using a Password Manager integrated into your browser can help prevent successful phishing attacks. Third-party solutions such as 1Password or Last Pass make it much easier to use a very strong password. Password managers, as well as the browser’s built-in password manager, will only auto-fill passwords on the correct website. If the password manager does not auto-fill, this might indicate a phishing attempt.
Source: Defense Media Activity (Guide to Keeping Your Social Media Accounts Secure)
