Every online social media account your have is a back door into your business. You need to act securely. Generally, online security begins by buttoning down your own cell phone. One of the common hacking techniques is to duplicate the SIM card from your cell phone. Once this happens, the hacker can not only login to your accounts, and assume your role as the administrator, but the hacker can also then change your passwords and associated email address to effectively lock you out.

 

 

Lock Down

You can set the criteria that it would take for your cellphone carrier to issue a new phone and/or SIM card. For example, you can call your carrier and request that they add a measure requiring you to be in a store with a photo id or even a passport in order to purchase a new phone or a duplicate SIM card.

 

 

Once your phone is secure you can then focus on site security

  • Your login information will likely require a user to be your email or partial email address. Security is in your chosen passwords. Passwords should be changed frequently. Best practices is to create a sentence that you can remember and use the first letter or 2nd letter of each word in the sentence of every other word in the sentence. Then somewhere in your sentence add a random number, character and capital letter. Bots that may try to associate various passwords with your likely user name have a tougher time guessing at the random assortment of letters and number that this system generates.
  • Resist the temptation to login to your accounts using public WiFi. It may be fun to work from the local coffee shop, but your data is NOT secure. Anyone sitting around the parking lot can be watching what you are doing online. The same is true about logging in to the WiFi at any other business. While you may need to login to provide a presentation of something, be aware that you have exposed the data on your computer or phone. Many businesses reserve a special laptop that contains only the presentation material for traveling
  • Never login to your accounts on a school aged child’s electronic devices (phones, laptops or tablets). Schools systems employ tracking software that will enable people in local law enforcement, the private purveyor of the software and even school officials to review your email, twitter and other social media accounts. For this same reason, NEVER allow your devices to be used for anything associated with a school (homework, messaging, email, posts, etc.) by a school aged child.
  • Recovery information inside your account is critical. Be very sure that the cell numbers and email addresses you list are accurate and independent of those who may administer the site on your behalf. Should that person leave the company you will need to use the recovery information to enter the account, retire the person’s credentials who is no longer representing you, and replace the administration team with whoever will be managing the account.
  • Watch renewal dates for listed credit cards and make sure that you replace expiring cards with new ones.
  • Watch for phishing on your accounts. You will receive all sorts of solicitations, threatening sounding warnings and other emails about your social media accounts. NEVER click on a link from ANY of these no matter how official they may seem. Always check on your account by logging directly into the account. Hackers will always hope that you take their bait and click into your account via their email links while revealing your login information and passwords. Always go to your listings by logging in by yourself. If there is something wrong with the account, you will see the messages in your application after you have logged in.
  • You will frequently find yourself on your own personal social media accounts on the same devices that you use for your business accounts. Be very careful that you are posting personal tweets on your personal account and business ones to your business listings!