Recently there have been a number of organisations that have had their social media accounts hacked and been put at risk of severe damage to their reputation.
Employees at HMV hacked the business’ official Twitter account and began tweeting about the mass staff lay-offs the company was experiencing. An article on LeadingCompany written by Catriona Pollard explains how managers can learn from this incident.
Burger King had its Twitter account hacked and its profile picture changed to the McDonalds’ logo. The hackers then tweeted offensive messages and said Burger King had been bought out by McDonalds.
Jeep’s Twitter account was also hacked recently and its logo changed to Cadillac’s.
This highlights the issue that businesses need to increase their security on social media and constantly monitor their social media accounts.
If your social media accounts do get hacked you could be at risk of damage to your reputation, confidential information may be leaked or you may not be able to regain control of your accounts.
PR Daily has provided some great tips on how to protect your social media accounts.
Unique passwords
Have a unique password for every social media account. This will prevent a domino effect occurring if a hacker gains access to one account and can then access them all.
Longer passwords
Longer passwords are harder to guess so make your password as long as you can. 12 -16 characters is a recommended length.
Different characters
Use a variety of characters in your passwords such as capitals, numbers, punctuation and symbols. This will make it harder to guess.
Log out
Always log out of your social media accounts after you have finished using them. It’s also a good idea to not click the ‘keep me logged in’ or ‘remember me’ button.
Change your passwords
If your social media manager leaves your business it’s a good idea to change your passwords. You don’t want an ex-employee to still have access to your accounts as they may abuse this opportunity.
Prepare for a crisis
Have a social media crisis plan in case your accounts get hacked. This involves knowing what to do when a crisis occurs, how to regain control of your accounts and how to repair the damage to your reputation.
If your accounts do get hacked it’s important to quickly regain control of your account and then repair any damage the hacker caused to your brand or reputation.
Have your social media accounts been hacked? How did you control the situation?
Read the full article here.
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Sydney Social Media and Public Relations Agency, CP Communications blends cutting edge offline and online PR and social media to help you gain a competitive advantage. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
