Social Media – How You’re Leaving Clues For Tracking

 

Have your employees gone too far with social networking? Has Facebook been more of a bane than a boon to your business? Have stalkers used the data you posted on social media for their own purpose? Have hackers entered your system to access your personal and confidential information through the back door that you left open on the social media?

These are just some of the questions you could ask yourself before you tap on the ‘Log In’ icon. This content will help you .

NBC Report Has Left The Cyber Crime Control Cell Fretting

A few days ago, an NBC news segment video clip that went viral showed how easily stalkers can access your private information and more disturbingly, your location through the pictures you have uploaded from your smartphone.

NBC’s report was a warning to smartphone owners. What NBC has shown is not just a current trend in the social media;but a threat that places one’s professional and personal life at risk. The smartphone’s GPS is capable of pouring out information as harmless as your favorite ice-cream parlor to a very confidential piece of information.  For example, a military installation might accidentally divulge the location of their weaponry or nuclear stocks.

Cyber criminals are on a constant look-out for open backdoors like these. Social media users exploit these for their own purposes. Things such as the facebook spy are constantly propping up amidst scams and phishing issues.

Social Media At The Workplace

Social media are often applauded for broadening the sphere of business. Social media marketing might have revolutionized the corporate sector but it also has some implications. Apart from having toll on employee productivity, you might be allowing social media to leak out top-secret information.

Social networking websites are very vulnerable but the fact is that Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other platforms are on the topof the list of the most visited websites at an average workplace.

A harmless conversation over a Facebook chat between two employees might reveal some critical information about the company which could be used by hackers for exploitation. In some cases, hackers armed with such information have  gone as far as destroying the whole company or selling it away. Hence, many firms have fired their employees over seemingly benign comments, tweets and other posts on the social media.

Shared Data, Pictures and Videos

The number of hits, shares or comments on the status you posted just half an hour ago might make you proud of your social media skills. But we often fail to realize that this too comes with its pocket full of disadvantages.  Anything shared, retweeted, commented on or even liked leaves a trail behind it. Stalkers and hackers can use this to create problems for users; sometimes the problem can be grave enough to require legal assistance.

There is no denying the fact that social media has an unlimited reach. But it also poses security threats for those who use it extensively. Despite this, by no means, stops people from using the social media. However, the NBC news clip going viral is a sure sign of the fact that people are beginning to take notice of this issue.

Leave a Reply