Our Predictability as a Vulnerability
Social media safety and security are a growing concern. As more people engage in social media the amount of information being shared in relatively open forums continues to grow.
Best practice is to post information and photos after an event rather than letting people know where you will be or where you are right now. It is also a good idea to be cautious about “checking in” when using locations based services. Geo location is a growing concern amongst social media safety experts.
If you exercise the discipline of only posting after an event, keep this tip in mind; if you frequent the restaurant or establishment mentioned in your post, you are still leaving a criminal with enough information to start building a predictive profile on you.
What do I mean by this? Simply put, our predictability is one of our primary vulnerabilities. It provides criminals a good map of when and where we will be. This information helps them streamline their planning and victim selection process whether it may be a burglary or a violent crime on a person.
Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to walk and drive the same routes and stick to schedules that become quite obvious to those who might be observing. This is why those charged with protecting dignitaries and high profile people continuously change the routes, vehicles and departure times while transporting their clients.
Even if you are careful, but mention several times over the course of a few weeks that you are home from a specific location; a restaurant you frequent, your gym, your child’s school or a more regular after work activity, you have supplied enough information for someone to predict when you will be back at one of those locations. This information greatly enhances the targeting opportunity.
So keep in mind, even if posting after an event, keep the specifics and location vague. Predictably is our Achilles Heel. Again keep the specifics and location very vague!!
You might think that only friends and family in your social media network are privy to anything you share. You also might think that your friends have vetted the friends they share their platforms with. Think again!
A Reuters article on a British company, Legal & General published some statistics from a study they did several years ago.
Their study revealed that only 13% of Facebook users vetted a friend request and a staggering 92% accepted new follows on Twitter without doing any checks!!
They also found that 38% of people on Twitter and Facebook would post about an upcoming vacation.
Social Media Safety Training Available onsite or in webinar format / One hour duration
Related:
Back to School Safety Tips — Social Media, Device Security, Malware by Christopher Burgess (For the Huffington Post )
Password- Creation and Usage – Online Safety & Security by Christopher Burgess