Definition
Social media protection solutions prevent unauthorized access to your social media accounts, help you find accounts posing as your brand or executives and shield customers from malicious social media content.
Issues & Risks
Social media has opened a powerful new channel for businesses to connect with customers. But social media also exposes businesses and their customers to digital risks, including:
- Security threats such as malware and phishing.
- Data exposure.
- Brand or executive impersonation.
- Counterfeit goods and scams.
There’s a high payout for threat actors launching these social media attacks. A recent study revealed that social media scams and attacks generate $3.25B each year.
Protecting Against Social Media Threats
Like most cyber threats today, social media threats target people. Cyber attackers use social engineering to deceive users and gain access to information, credentials, money and more.
The barrier to entry is low, because anyone can set up a social media account in just a matter of seconds. And it’s easy to mask your identity on these platforms. Here are some examples of social media security threats that companies face:
- Angler phishing: More and more businesses provide customer support on social media. Cyber criminals exploit this trend and set up fake social media accounts impersonating a brand’s customer service division. They watch the brand’s legitimate social media accounts and wait for a customer to request support. They use the fake account to respond to the customer and defraud them out of their personal information, credentials, or both.
- Malicious content: Social media attackers flood a business’ social media posts with comments that can include phishing links or ransomware. For popular brands with hundreds or thousands of comments on each social media post, finding these malicious comments before they wreak havoc if difficult, if not impossible.
- Account takeovers: Companies have hundreds of social media accounts, dozens of admins with login privileges, and often, third-party publishing apps. If any of these logins or access points are compromised, attackers can access a company’s account and fill the feed with harmful content.
- Executive impersonation: Social media attackers use fake but convincing profiles on platforms such as LinkedIn. They then launch private message conversations with partners or customers, leading to wire transfer fraud or sensitive data loss. Or they post bogus information about the company, which can hurt the company’s reputation or even stock price.
Tips for Protection
Here are some key ways to protect your company’s social media presence:
- Monitor for suspicious activity on your brand-owned social accounts and lock them down right away if they appear compromised.
- Control third-party access to your social accounts.
- Identify and remove malicious content from comments and replies as soon as it is posted.
- Find and take down accounts posing as your brand or executives.
Proofpoint Social Media Protection
Find out how Proofpoint social media protection helps secure your corporate social media accounts from threats, attacks, malicious content, and other risks.
Social Media Protection Datasheet
Protect your brand, prevent account takeovers and avoid costly social media phishing scams with Proofpoint Digital Risk Protection.
Monitoring and Protecting Your Company’s Digital Footprint
You need to consistently monitor and secure your organization's digital footprint in all channels, even if you do not have an official brand presence in one.