Security Implications of Social Media

We usually focus on the positives that social media can bring about, but right now we are going to hop to the other side of the fence for a bit and discuss some of the dangers that can arise via social media. Not too long ago, I was called out at work for something that was posted on my Facebook. It wasn’t anything offensive, just one of my friends happened to go on my profile while I was logged in, and put an unsettling status about me, which made my friends think that I put it about myself. Sure, it was all fun and games to my social circle, but when things like this get brought up at your place of business, it makes one think about the effects that social media can have on one’s life, safety, security, perceived character, and well being.

Sure, social media is a great way to bring traffic to your site, brand your products and services, generate leads, and so on; but how safe is social media? Social media encompasses a wide spectrum, two out of three Americans use social technology, social sites are now the 4th most active online activity – ahead of email, and it accounts for about 10% of all time spent on the internet. Being that so many people in the world are involved in social media, what are some of the potential implications?

1. National Security: Currently the US Marines have banned social media for the next year. According to the Marines:“THESE INTERNET SITES IN GENERAL ARE A PROVEN HAVEN FOR MALICIOUS ACTORS AND CONTENT AND ARE PARTICULARLY HIGH RISK DUE TO INFORMATION EXPOSURE, USER GENERATED CONTENT AND TARGETING BY ADVERSARIES. THE VERY NATURE OF SNS CREATES A LARGER ATTACK AND EXPLOITATION WINDOW, EXPOSES UNNECESSARY INFORMATION TO ADVERSARIES AND PROVIDES AN EASY CONDUIT FOR INFORMATION LEAKAGE THAT PUTS OPSEC, COMSEC, PERSONNEL AND THE MCEN AT AN ELEVATED RISK OF COMPROMISE. EXAMPLES OF INTERNET SNS SITES INCLUDE FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, AND TWITTER.”

Imagine if there was a marine tweeting something like “hitting golf balls into the Adriatic sea.” Not only does he give away his location, but just the mere fact that he tweeted something puts his whole company under potential attack. Anyone can go online and track where anyone tweeted last from in the world.
2. Publicly Traded Companies: Twitter grew 1382% from January to February in 2009. Let’s face it, the world is on Twitter. If I was part of a publicly traded company I would be wary about what my employees are tweeting. Imagine the implications of an employee tweeting out of excitement after a new purchase, endeavor, or business acquisition. This can be considered an insider tip, and if one sees this tweet and purchases a good amount of stocks, SEC insider-trading implications may occur.
3. Personal Safety, Security, and Information: Social media has jeopardized the life of many individuals, not so much life and death, but prosperity and well being. You can potentially lose your job over comments said over Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. You can be caught cheating on your spouse through tagged and/or posted pictures, statuses, and other comments. Businesses now use social media to screen potential employees. Insurance companies also view social media to see what kind of lifestyles people are living before insuring them. There is a lot of personal information exposed on social media; you can be unfairly judged based on postings on social media that may or may not be taken out of context.

My message: Be careful and be conscientious and understand that everything you do online is potentially reviewed in the future. Big Brother? Maybe, but no one is forcing you to use the social media. Just be smart, enjoy the benefits of social media but be acutely aware of the consequences of perceived poor behavior or judgment.