Date: March 19, 2025
Author: Elliot Park, Brookville Chamber Intern
Continuing the focus on utilizing the internet and social media effectively, it is also important to focus on some of the challenges and consequences of incorporating these into your business. The internet and social media has become more ingrained into our everyday lives and more and more businesses are relying on online networks for personal & professional connection, networking, and business transactions. The significant usage has made online platforms increasingly attractive for malicious hackers, has escalated the potential impact of account hackings, and has made protection a critical component to a business’s digital (online) efforts.
There are numerous ways for hackers to attack your business and obtain potentially sensitive information through social media, including account hijackings & security breaches. One major cause of security breaches is due to phishing attacks, which can cause significant damage to an organization. Phishing attacks most commonly occur when a hacker impersonates a higher entity in the organization and gets an employee to click a link through text message, instant messaging, e-mail, or social media. When an individual clicks the malicious link, malware can be instilled allowing hackers to gain access to your online systems. A phishing attack can hurt a business by revealing sensitive information, freezing systems, identity theft (posing as the business), and theft of information and funds. Another common way for hackers to infiltrate your business is by social engineering. Social engineering is similar to phishing attacks by a hacker impersonating a trusted higher entity of the organization but relies on psychological manipulation to convince victims. Hackers convince business members to share usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information allowing hackers to gain access to more sensitive information while infiltrating the businesses online systems and accounts.
To combat these rising issues there are a variety of strategies and design improvements an organization can take that will also help to improve their overall security measures & flexibility. Some of these strategies & improvements focus more on developing training for employees whereas others are on improving the company’s efforts and measures. Some of the most common and most effective strategies and design improvements include the following:
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication
- Review Active Sessions
- Educate & Train Employees and Staff
- Limit Publicly Available Information (ex: employee personal details)
- Implement Strong & Unique Password
- Utilize Firewalls & Antivirus Software
- Regularly Update Software Systems
Overall, the instillment of social media and other digital platforms into our everyday lives and the increasing usage among more and more businesses has caused several negative consequences, such as becoming more attractive to hackers and has escalated the potential impact of account & system hackings. The numerous ways for hackers to attack a business has not only made digital (online) protection an important component to a business but has also made it much more challenging and difficult for individuals and businesses to protect themselves. Although businesses are essentially more susceptible to digital attacks there are several simple, yet effective, strategies and design improvements that can be taken to add an extra layer of security. By enabling two-factor authentication, educating and training employees, utilizing firewalls and antivirus software, and regularly performing updates can help to protect your business and employees. Be sure to evaluate your digital (online) efforts and develop strategies and design improvements that fit your businesses protection needs.
Sources:
Alber, T. R. (2024, September 21). Account Hijacking and Social Media Fraud: How Scammers Exploit Platforms and How to Protect Your Online Identity. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/account-hijacking-social-media-fraud-how-scammers-exploit-alber-ihryc/
Civati, A. (2024, June 1). Social Media Hacking – Five Techniques Used to Hack Social Accounts. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-hacking-five-techniques-used-hack-accounts-civati-hbebe/
F5. Understanding Security Breaches and Protecting Data. https://www.f5.com/glossary/security-breaches#:~:text=For%20businesses%2C%20breaches%20can%20also,%2C%20ransomware%2C%20and%20social%20engineering.
imperva. (n.d.). Phishing Attacks. https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/phishing-attack-scam/
