Social media accounts of individuals and brands alike are being hacked daily and it seems that no one is completely safe from these malicious onslaughts. On Facebook alone, approximately 160,000 accounts are hacked every single day. It does not matter whether you use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, however – if you are online, you are a potential target. Apart from the inconvenience of having to try and regain control of your account, a large amount of very important data can also be lost in the process. It is therefore extremely important that business owners not only know what to do when their business accounts are hacked but also how to keep their digital assets safe.
Keep Your Digital Assets Safe
It’s Difficult, But Don’t Panic
As soon as you realize you have been hacked, change all your passwords on any email and social media accounts you have access to. Request the same of your employees and make a public announcement that your business accounts have been compromised. It is also important to increase your privacy settings to the max everywhere you can. If you can’t regain access to your accounts by changing the password, contact the customer service department of the social media network you are requiring assistance with for help. You may be required to complete a series of forms and provide proof of your identity. Secure your accounts and devices further by doing a thorough malware sweep of all devices connected to your networks. This includes computers, tablets, smartphones, IoT devices, and smartwatches. Be sure to use trusted anti-malware software such as Malwarebytes, Kaspersky, and Avast to keep your devices and network secure.
Keep Your Assets Safe
In some instances, despite everyone’s best efforts, you may not be able to regain control of your social media accounts. Even if you do, you might find that the hackers have deleted some or all of your data. To prevent such a far-reaching loss it comes highly recommended to capture and store your business’s social media output. Without such a measure in place, a plethora of communications and digital assets are at a very high risk of being compromised or lost. By enlisting the help of a reputable social media archive services provider you can rest assured knowing your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube data will be kept safe in the event of a security breach or any other eventuality.
Prevention is Better than Cure
Regardless of being able to back- up your digital assets, it is still in everyone’s best interest to prevent hacker attacks as much as possible. The easiest way for a hacker to gain access to a social media account is through phishing emails. In order to avoid falling victim to these malicious attacks, refrain from clicking on any suspicious-looking links or messages. Don’t ever use the same password for multiple accounts and steer clear of passwords such as your date of birth. Use a password generator and password manager to create and store complex passwords for all your accounts. Lastly, make sure your antivirus software is up to date to protect your accounts and your business from the latest cyber threats.
Last Word:
Every day hundreds of thousands of social media accounts are hacked. It is important that business owners do everything in their power to prevent their important digital assets from being compromised.
