Twitter Hacked Again — Implications for Your Business
Do you know what your employees are doing on the Internet? Given recent events with popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, you might want to consider re-evaulating company policies when it comes to Internet usage. If employees are given too much freedom or are uneducated about the dangers and potential pitfalls of Internet schemes, their seemingly innocent actions could end up compromising your entire organization.
For instance, earlier this month, a number of Twitter users were subject to what was believed to be a phishing scam. The scam involved compromised Twitter accounts sending direct messages to their followers with links to a site that would require users to input their mobile phone numbers. Though only phone numbers, the site could have just as easily asked for any form of personal contact or identification information including usernames and passwords.
As such, it’s imperative for organizations who handle any form of sensitive information — and I’d be hard pressed to find one that doesn’t — to have strict guidelines when it comes to employees’ use of the world wide web. Not only that, but employees should be educated about recognizing and avoiding simple phishing ploys. In a era when the amount of information per person is growing at an exponential rate, effective information security is a must.
Even something as simple as a direct message from Twitter has the potential to spread viruses or compromise sensitive information, so make sure your organization is aptly prepared with appropriate preventative measures.
[photo: Nik Hewitt]
Additional Resources:
Is what your employees are doing dangerous?
Keeping Your Organization Safe on Twitter
Twitter Tweets Out: Is Your Organization Next?
Tags: data protection, it policies, Phishing, portland it