LAX controls over staff using social media could leave companies open to costly and damaging cyber attacks, according to security group the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC).
It said that while there was an ever-growing hacking threat from cyber-criminals, firms were now facing a risk from discontented or former staff with access to online accounts.
SBRC has now brought in a team of “ethical hackers” – students on placement from Abertay University’s Ethical Hacking and Countermeasures course – to lead the battle against attacks.
They will primarily target Scotland’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and will offer a full assessment of social media use, highlight potential risks and offer suggestions to guard against cyber breaches.
Even with small firms, SBRC said business Twitter and Facebook accounts could be accessed by upwards of 12 people, which resulted in an “alarmingly high” chance of misuse where a company does not have a comprehensive staff policy.
If an individual has access to passwords, SBRC said it could lead to a range of issues, such as fleecing company finances, infiltrating confidential client accounts, or sabotaging operations.
Ethical hacker Greg Hyslop said: “When we go out on site-visits to Scottish businesses we find that there is a notable lack of confidence among heads of organisations when it comes to social media use.
“Much of that comes down to misunderstanding or a lack of control – and we can help solve that by presenting a range of solutions, such as individual portals and the proper use of permissions and protocols.
“Working with hackers can give businesses much greater confidence in the comments that appear under the business name on Twitter, Facebook and other business networking sites.
Director Mandy Haeburn-Little said: “We’d never discourage social media as a marketing channel – but rather want to highlight measures that give the business owner more control and confidence online. We also want the 341,000 SME’s that make up the backbone of the Scottish economy to know that help in the fight against cyber-crime is available.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here