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Social [Media] Security: The Impact of Social Media on Information Security

In this age, social media is a prominent feature of any company, no matter the industry they come from. Interestingly enough, however, there is rarely just a single person or a single department that handles the social media exclusively—because it is both a marketing function and security concern. In this group, they noted that social media is not just an external piece of a company. There are new tools, such as Yammer, that allow for internal organization social networking. As such, new insider threat factors arise in regards to what employees are sharing across these internal social systems—information, data, images, and so on. Several within the group noted that higher-level executives can opt out of being involved in such systems, but even if they do, their external usage (and that of their families) is often still monitored as a potential risk. The group also noted that as newer generations enter into the workforce, they are more acclimated to social media and even view it as a major component of daily interaction. Personal use of social media during work is not only more frequent in this age, but is also becoming more of the norm than a forbidden activity. The group also noted that in this same vein of thought, many employees who are permitted some level of social media use in the company feel more positively toward their job and the company itself which does, remarkably, have an impact on the company’s reputation. While social media usage is a growing security concern, it is not going to go away—rather, it is growing in significance and usefulness. What security teams must do instead is learn how they can adopt, manage, and monitor its usage among employees and third parties, both internally and externally, with policies and guidelines.