Run social media in safe mode

Internal compliance is the key when it comes to keeping silent threats posed by social media at bay

Enterprise data security has since long outgrown and evolved beyond the mere functions of antivirus, firewall and intrusion detection. Endpoint security and network security are also no longer all encompassing paradigms. And the rapid adoption of social media at various layers has simply exploded the boundaries that need to be monitored for potentially countless breaches.

While the first leg of Internets growth into enterprise networks itself added a number of holes into the security fabric, the 2.0 phase has been unnerving to say the least.

The traditional security paradigms are just ineffective to this address enterprise security in this era. No controls seem to work.
And the debate whether to open up to the social media or not has long been put to rest. It has been accepted that business benefits of social media far outweigh their perils.

That, however, does not make those perils look less threatening. In fact, it just makes the IT managers work more challenging. Besides, the almost sudden opening up of boundaries has led to a state of action without responsibility.

And this has happened when enterprises are still at a stage where security policies are not an integral part of their security strategies. Even in cases where policies have been implemented they are not adequately adhered to or employees are able to understand and appreciate their benefits.

This has encouraged enterprises to look at security less from a control standpoint and take a more inclusive approach. The way security policies are written and observed is changing too. There is more emphasis on educating users at various levels and making them aware to the heightened need for protecting information and IT assets in the enterprise.

But why social media?
Social media is an increasingly important channel for marketing and branding, among other things. As such, corporate professionals are keen to use it to their advantage.

A bad post about a brand on a Facebook channel will probably do more harm to the company than in another media, partly because it can potentially be read by more number of consumers and also because it can be posted to target those very readers who are also likely consumers of the brand.

It therefore becomes important for brand managers and marketers to remain updated about such posts and take corrective actions and duly address the concerns of the complainant.

More importantly, one needs to proactively reach out to the existing and potential customers on a regular basis, as part of a focused brand building exercise.

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