Posted by: Hasan Sameer
October 26, 2022
Social media hacks can impart severe damage if not addressed on time. People share more than required on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. All this makes social media an easy-to-breach store of crucial data. This data can be more useful for hackers than you think. People often communicate freely with strangers and reveal critical information about their personal and professional lives. Especially, kids fall for such baits and become victims of cyberbullying and blackmailing. Also, businesses using social media to expand their outreach, are susceptible to hacks. Hackers can get into the main network of the company through social media handles if they are connected.
is the current rate of social media accounts hacking instances.
of espionage attacks are initiated by phishing attempts.
of accounts are hacked because they rely only on passwords.
of social media users deleted their accounts due to privacy and security concerns.
Hacking your social media accounts gives easy access to a huge pile of free information about you to the threat actors. This is the reason such incidents are so popular these days. Also, the kind of security social media has, makes it prone to hacking. However, you can avoid social media hacking by adhering to some security guidelines and a few important tips. The following are some of the best tips to avoid social media hacking:
The first mistake people do with their social media accounts is that they keep too easy passwords. Most of them use generic passwords like ‘12345’, ‘qwerty’, ‘password’, etc. These passwords don’tdo not take much of the hacker’s time to get cracked. Also, putting your personal information like date of birth, your pet’s name, or your phone number, etc are also not good choices for a password. You must devise a password with a random mix of numbers, alphabets (both upper and lower case), and other special characters. This kind of password would stand a better chance of standing up against any tool or algorithm hackers use to breach your password. Such passwords are also better in terms of cyber security verification.
No matter how strong your password is, there is still a chance of compromise. You can eliminate it by enabling multiple layers of authentication. The most generic form of multi-factor authentication is 2FA (two-factor authentication). Two-factor authentication makes your account more secure as it confirms a user’s identity by utilizing a combination of two different components. One is of course your password and the other one is a confirmation code sent to your mobile phone or email id. This feature is available on most social media and digital platforms. Not using this security feature is just asking for unnecessary trouble.
When you update your information, there are a lot of applications that ask for permission and access to your social media account. Also, people use quite a few applications for different tasks such as scheduling social media posts. These applications also need access to your account information. You need to be selective with third-party applications from unreliable sources. Ensure that you are giving access only to legitimate applications. Plus, keep track of what details and functionalities of your account you are giving these applications access to. Frequently review your account permissions and restrict access to external apps.
A lot of internet service providers (ISPs) offer some sort of security. You must compare the level of security among the available service providers in your area before choosing one. However, this security is not enough to prevent malicious activities from affecting your account. Robust antivirus software can take your security to the next level. It will stop malware before it gets downloaded into your system and affect your account information and other data. It may also help you scan and remove any malicious software spying on you or stealing your data in case you are breached.
