Nowadays, social media platforms are a primary channel of communication and source of information. Therefore, social media threat monitoring is an essential part of online protection.
Malicious content, numerous types of risk, and threats have a trend of accelerated growth. With thousands of newly registered users every day from around the world, social media threat monitoring requires constant efforts and improvement.
Even though almost everybody is online, not many people are familiar with the principles of internet security. Cybersecurity, public data protection, online bullying, or phishing remain unknown practices to many.
However, when it comes to the protection of your company or brand, social media threat monitoring is so important. Without this security precaution system, you can easily find yourself on target of criminals, competitors, or any other malicious third side.
Let’s find out what the primary purpose of social media threat monitoring is and what the challenges that a growing global society brings are. The subject is fascinating, and more importantly – useful and essential for safe online existence and working in the modern world.
So, here’s what social media threat monitoring is all about.
Social Media and Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity entails the safeguard of internet-connected systems that includes hardware, software, and database from break-ins, unauthorized doings, malicious damage, viruses, and other cyber threats.
Even though most definitions demonstrate the predominance of a technical perspective when it comes to online security, social media shows its different side. One’s safety can be endangered by human activities and interactions.
Cyber threats represent one of the biggest threats in the modern world. This is because almost every individual, small company, large private corporation, or state department has to maintain an internet presence in order to deliver its full potential. This leaves them vulnerable to unknown attackers that can inflict massive losses without them even noticing.
Cyber threats are a combination of several, diverse malicious factors in cyberspace. They can steal information and damage communication systems. Cyber threats and attacks can be executed by different entities:
- states,
- corporations,
- specialized malware companies,
- dissatisfied individuals,
- terrorists,
- botnet operators, and,
- individuals who abuse the Internet and social media networks
It is an indisputable fact that the Internet offers many advantages. Still, there are many downsides to it – and some with exceptionally negative effects. This primarily refers to the abuse of both social networks and the Internet in general.
Social media threat monitoring helps us recognize and prevent potential dangers and keep our clients’ online identities and databases intact.
Social Media Threats
Talking about safety on social media platforms, the possibility for an individual to protect himself is disgracefully small. Especially when combined with low awareness among Internet users when it comes to online abuse and its possible consequences. This state shows a general lack of education in this area and the unpopularity of this topic among the users.
The dangers that most often lurk on social media are:
- various forms of violence,
- misuse of personal data and photographs,
- Diverse illegal and harmful content on the Internet,
- Forms of persecution and harassment,
- Financial scams, and,
- Malware and phishing.
However, one of the biggest dangers of operating on the Internet is so-called cyberbullying. The possible consequences can be severe, starting with hurt feelings and even attempting or committing suicide.
When it comes to the business side of the problem, many companies that use social media channels to promote their business, communicate with customers, and operations are also in danger.
In the modern world, any form of business that doesn’t exist online is doomed. Estimates show that these companies have about 2 years before going under. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that everyone is on social networks – businesses depend on it.
Social Media Monitoring
For those who want to exploit the sharing of public data for malicious purposes, social media has proved to be an invaluable instrument. Numerous cyber and physical safety threats are made possible by many seemingly harmless social media posts.
Oversharing also allows bad guys to gather all the required public data. Poor security leaves business social media accounts and company employees vulnerable to monitoring by rivals, industrial spies, governments, and other third sides.
Threats from social media are growing at a rapid pace.
Your business can face social media impersonations, scams, financial risks, leakage of information, and physical threats. Cyber attackers can harm your reputation, customer experience, interrupt business activities, or steal from you.
Threat monitoring
Social media threat monitoring helps with maintaining high-security levels while continuously identifying threats and vulnerabilities across social media platforms.
The main stages of social media threat monitoring are:
- Identification – every business has its own criteria when it comes to online security goals.
- Verification – every post needs to be verified in order not to cause harm.
- Monitoring – continuous observance of online activity, with special attention to risky actions.
- Notification – agreed-upon ways of alerting and threat addressing.
Social media threat monitoring usually happens on the public side of the Internet. Still, sometimes it extends to the sections of the internet not indexed by Google – the so-called deep or dark web.
Analysts who are conducting the monitoring, need to efficiently cover hundreds of digital points of data and posts to protect businesses, customers, and employees. They need to employ adaptive and predictive strategies in order to detect and block social media threats.
Therefore, the main challenges of social media threat monitoring are knowing where to look and how to cope with an endless amount of information that multiplies every second. To this aim companies often use specially designed software and tools.
It’s Not Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice
It takes seconds to open an account on any social media platform.
The lack of legal norms, warnings, and knowledge of social media threats make the situation very convenient for cybercriminals. Individual user and company profiles and online data can easily be stolen. As more business is done online, more private information is circulating on the internet.
Nowadays, companies can`t always protect themselves from online financial scams, industrial espionage, data leakage, fake accounts, and so on. Therefore, social media threat monitoring is necessary to protect their reputation, customers, and business overall.
Social media threat monitoring is a complex process that requires staying abreast with newly forged threats and risks. Therefore, it`s also increasingly needed in times when one’s online identity is as important as their physical identity.
