Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sunanda Pushkar made headlines today by issuing a joint statement saying that their Twitter accounts were hacked i.e. tweets posted were unauthorized and they intend to remain happily married.
While such stories may appear to be funny for average person, the truth is social media hacking is a real threat to famous celebrities and even companies for that matter.
Hacking not only spreads harmful information about a person/brand but also misleads, confuses and creates a real damage of the person/brand’s reputation.
So what’s the foolproof system to keep your accounts safe? Well there is no such thing but yes, there are various measures to reduce the chances of becoming a victim. Here are 5 social media management lessons you can learn from Shashi Tharoor-Sunanda Pushkar-Mehr’s fiasco:
1) Appoint a good password manager –
Don’t get a intern to setup a facebook page and consider that a strong password means one which contains numbers and funky characters and hence, it is secured. What you need is a strong password management software which efficiently manages and shares a variety of passwords. Don’t use the same password for your Facebook, Twitter accounts and definitely not the same password for your email address. Use different passwords for every account as if one of them gets hacked, the damage doesn’t spread farther.
2) 2-step authentication –
Even if your password is strong, there can be someone who logs in using a compromised computer or an ex-employee taking revenge or a hacker who can reset your password. Use the 2-step authentication from smartphones and tablets that can serve as excellent security devices. In 2-step, you would also need a phone to receive a text message. If you login with your password, you will enter a security code that will be delivered in your phone. So unless the hacker has access to your phone, he can’t login to your account.
3) Share your password only with trustworthy people –Â
There will be multiple people who are working on your social networking accounts. It’s essential that you only give passwords to those whom you trust completely and who won’t mishandle it. Hence, limit the number of people who know the passwords. Reset your passwords every month or 2 to lower the risk of someone hacking your accounts.
4) Don’t visit spammy links or fake login screens –
The fake login screens, spammy links, certain pages may look like a normal Twitter login screen. Beware of them as they are designed to get your account information. Always double check the page’s URL before you login.
5) Use trusted, reputable apps to manage your social media accounts –
As many different apps you use, you have high chances of getting your account hacked. There are lot of great apps to make it easier for managing your social media activities and hence, it is essential to use popular and trusted apps.
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