Social Media Security

Author: Michael Cross
Pages: 346
Publisher: Syngress
ISBN: 1597499862

Introduction

I remember the days when social media was used exclusively by early adopters and technology buffs. Today, it’s a firm part of our daily lives. Individuals use it to network and share a variety of information, while companies use it to communicate with their customers.

However, it’s not all great since social media brings also copious privacy and security concerns. While individuals tend to over share sensitive information, the enterprise treads on even more sensitive ground with a varied set of potential disasters.

This book presents the risks present in social networking and shows you how to mitigate them. Read on to discover how it fares.

About the author

Michael Cross is an Internet Specialist/Computer Forensic Analyst with the Niagara Regional Police Service. He performs computer forensic examinations on computers involved in criminal investigation. He also has consulted and assisted in cases dealing with computer-related/Internet crimes.

Inside the book

It’s important to note at the very beginning that, despite the title, this book is not aimed at an experienced audience. In fact, Cross starts by exploring what social media is and how it evolved. Although this section does offer some unnecessary details, it provides a solid introduction and a plethora of links. If you’re an entirely new user, you will find this text valuable.

Now that you know the basics, the author continues by offering a wealth of information of what you can do with social media and the problems that you can encounter along the way. The book speaks to both individual and organisations, and serves as an all-encompassing guide. You’ll learn what do to and, more importantly, what not to do. The book offers examples of famous social networking blunders that serve as cautionary tales.

Cross finally tackles security almost half down the book when he writes about information leakage and the way cybercriminals use social media. You’ll discover terms such as social engineering, cyberstalking and phishing, while getting information on how to protect yourself and your organization along the way.

Since the overwhelming majority of this book is for an inexperienced audience, I think the parts talking about topics such as compliance and forensics are out of scope of the title. A person that doesn’t know what social networking is and how to use Twitter is hardly going to be the one thinking about PCI DSS within an organization.

Final thoughts

This book provides a solid foundation for novice users that are not familiar with social media and the dark side of the Internet. It contains an abundance of information and links that will enable you to get up to speed very quickly.