Social Media – Hackers on Fire

Hackers on Fire Recently

The recent Twitter Hack Attacks (not Big Mac Attacks) have made headlines everywhere. We recently wrote about some steps you can take protecting your accounts, yet it seems there is a ton of information and recommendations available. We thought we should share more of this information for you to keep in mind as we proceed.

In case you missed it, Burger King, Jeep and even Donald Trump’s Twitter accounts were hacked.  With so many accounts and so many hackers, it’s inevitable.  Social Media Insider provided a post by Catharine Taylor “Five Tips for Copy when (NOT IF) your Social Media Accounts are Hacked“, which gives a great way to view these situations. Keep in mind these Hack Attacks will continue to happen.

Here are Taylors FIVE tips:

1) Publicity, good or bad is always good; Burger King’s Twitter follower count grew substantially

2) Hacking and hackers exist, these happen, so don’t go crazy with worry

3) Frequency, as the hacking continues, the less effective is the result

4) Advantage, the notoriety can provide you other opportunities, Burger King used a coupon

5) Humour, it’s not what happens, it’s how you deal with what happens.

Keep in mind, we at Ravent5 are NOT suggesting you treat this less seriously than normal, but by the same token, let’s not get wrapped up in these minor scandals. Keep in mind just like the lottery; you can’t win if you don’t have a ticket.

Here are a couple of quick things to consider in ensuring security for your Social Media Accounts:

1) Change your passwords regularly

2) Have the assets available to restore your profile should the worst happen

3) Limit the mobile device access

4) Ensure all mobile devices have password protection

5) Change passwords when staff changes

If you’re the community manager or the content curator for your company or brand, it’s best to keep these issues in the forefront. If not, you won’t “have it your way”, if there is a hack attack, you will likely find yourself in the “Flame”.

Be careful out there.

Michael Bickerton, Raven5 Ltd, Oakville & Toronto, Ontario March 2013

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