Social media risks and controls

Marc Vael

Managing social media risks to an acceptable level

Definition of social media

The social interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

A group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.

Social media and technology

Social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content.

Social media introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.

Example

What makes social media social?

Social media differ from traditional or industrial media in many ways, including quality, reach, frequency, usability, immediacy, and permanence.

Internet users spend more time with social media sites than any other type of site. For content contributors, the benefits of participating in social media have gone beyond simply social sharing to building reputation and bringing in career opportunities and monetary income.

What makes social media different?

• It’s very, very public • It’s amplified (one to many, many to many,

possibly millions) • It’s a continuous live conversation driven

by everyone. • It’s permanent (Twitter is now archived in

the U.S. Library of Congress) • It lacks much of the contextual information

of traditional media.

Protiviti, 2013 IA Capabilities Needs survey

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Employee posting of pictures or information linking

them to the organisation Risks • Brand damage • Reputational damage • Legal contract damage Risk Mitigation Techniques • policy that specifies how employees may use organisation

related images, assets, and intellectual property (IP) in their online presence.

• awareness training and campaigns to inform employees on using social media sites

Aanmaken van een vals sociaal media profiel leidt tot de volgende (gezamenlijke) juridische aanklachten:

1. Valsheid in informatica (artikel 210bis Sw.); 2. Belaging/stalking (artikel 442bis Sw.); 3. Laster en eerroof (artikel 443 Sw.); 4. Belaging via telecommunicatie (o.a. artikel 145 §3bis van de Wet van 13 juni 2005 betreffende de elektronische communicatie) 5. Aanmatiging van naam (231 Sw).

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Exposure to customers and organisation through fraudulent or

hijacked corporate presence Risks • Customer backlash/adverse legal actions • Exposure of customer information • Reputational damage • Targeted phishing attacks on customers or employees Risk Mitigation Techniques • brand protection firm scans & searches brand misuse. • periodic informational updates to customers to maintain awareness of

potential fraud and to establish clear guidelines regarding what information should be posted as part of enterprise social media presence.

• awareness training and campaigns to inform employees of the risks involved with using social media sites

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Mismanagement of electronic communications impacted by

retention regulations or e-discovery Risks • Regulatory sanctions and fines • Adverse legal actions Risk Mitigation Techniques • appropriate policies, processes, tools & technologies, training are in

place to ensure that communications via social media that may be impacted by litigation or regulations are tracked & archived appropriately.

• ensuring security protocols & audits are adequate • avoid publishing misleading tweets from consumers • depending on social media site, maintaining archives may or may

not be a recommended approach.

Once Upon a Time…

• Coastal photos taken by photographer Kenneth Adelman aspart of erosion documentation study

• Study commissionedby California Coastal Records Project and contained over 12,000 photographs later placed on Pictopia.com

• This image was descriptively named Image 3850

The Streisand Effect is born• Barbara Streisand sued

photographer + sitefor invasion of privacyin 2003

• Photo was downloaded 6 times prior to suit (2 times by Streisand’s attorneys)

• Within a month of the lawsuit being filed, the photo was downloaded 420,000 times

• You can read the whole lawsuit at bit.ly/streisandlawsuit

http://bit.ly/streisandlawsuit

The Streisand Effect Irony

• “…the property is owned by an entity which cannot be traced, with any certainty, back to her.”

• “…Plaintiff’s living quarters are set back from the brink of the cliff…In fact, to catch a glimpse of [Plaintiff’s living quarters] one would have to walk a significant distance from the property either to the north or the south.”

• “…by entering the word ‘Streisand’ on the website’s own search engine, one is immediately taken to the detailed picture…”

The Streisand Effect Case Outcome

• 45 page ruling against Streisand at bit.ly/streisandruling

• Court embarked on research from People Magazine (page 80 of March 9, 1998 issue) to California coastal history of the 1850s.

• The result:

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Introduction of viruses and malware to corporate network Risks • Data leakage/theft • “Owned” systems (zombies) • System downtime • Resources required to clean systems Risk Mitigation Techniques • antivirus & anti malware controls installed and updated. • content filtering technology to restrict or limit access. • controls installed on mobile devices such as smartphones. • social media policies & standards. • awareness training and campaigns to inform employees of the risks

involved with using social media sites. • regular audits

Social media malware distribution

• Similar to other threats that can lead to downloading/ installing malware – Malicious ads – Clickjacking (“likejacking”) – Wall posts, inbox or chat messages with malicious

links from “Friends” (hijacked user account) – “My wallet was stolen and I’m stuck in Rome. Send

me cash now.” – Spam email pretending to be from social media

(facebook, twitter, linkedin) admins


URL Shorteners • bit.ly, TinyUrl, ReadThisURL, NotLong • Hides the true destination URL – no way to tell

where you’re going until you click!

http://www.hacker.com/badsite?%20infect-your-pc.html

is now

http://bit.ly/aaI9KV


3rd party apps • Games, quizzes, cutesie stuff • Untested by Facebook: anyone can write one • No Terms & Conditions: you either allow or you

don’t • Installation gives developers rights to look at

your profile and overrides your privacy settings!

Hollywood Celebrity iCloud picture incident

OMG!

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Move to digital business model increases customer

service expectations Risks • Customer dissatisfaction with the responsiveness

received, leading to potential reputational damage for the organisation and customer retention issues

Risk Mitigation Techniques • adequate staffing to handle the traffic created from social

media presence. • notices with clear windows for customer response.

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Use of personal accounts to communicate work-related

information Risks • Privacy violations • Reputational damage • Loss of competitive advantage Risk Mitigation Techniques • policies address employee posting of work-related

information • awareness training and campaigns that reinforce policies.

Moments

• "Little do they know that the cheese was in his nose and that there was some lethal gas that ended up on their salami ... Now that's how we roll at Domino's."

• “We got blindsided by two idiots with a video camera and an awful idea … .”

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Excessive employee use of social media in the workplace Risks • Network utilization issues • Productivity loss • Increased risk of defamation • Increased risk of exposure to viruses and malware due to

longer duration of sessions Risk Mitigation Techniques • awareness training and campaigns that reinforce policies • manage accessibility to social media sites via

– content filtering – limiting network throughput to social media sites.

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Unclear/undefined content rights to information posted to

social media Risks • Organisation’s loss of control/legal rights of information

posted to the social media sites • Unwanted contracts Risk Mitigation Techniques • legal & communications teams review user agreements for

social media sites that are being considered. • clear policies to employees and customers what information

should be posted as part of the organisation social media presence.

• (If feasible and appropriate) capability to capture & log all communications.

Social media risksThreats and Vulnerabilities • Employee access to social media via organisation-supplied mobile

devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops,…) Risks • Infection of mobile devices • Data theft from mobile devices • Circumvention of corporate controls • Data leakage Risk Mitigation Techniques • route corporate mobile devices through corporate network filtering

technology to restrict or limit access to social media sites. • appropriate controls are installed & continuously updated on mobile

devices. • policies & standards regarding use of mobile devices to access social

media. • awareness training and campaigns to inform employees of the risks

involved with using social media sites

By 2017, 40%

of enterprise contact information will have leaked into Facebook via employees' increased use of mobile device collaboration

applications.

“Not using social media in the workplace

is starting to make about as much sense as

not using the phone or email.” Ryan Holmes

www.isaca.org/cobit

Source: COBIT® 5, figure 15. © 2012 ISACA® All rights reserved.

Principles, policies & frameworks



10 social media strategy questions1. What is the strategic benefit to leveraging social media? 2. Are all appropriate stakeholders involved in social media strategy

development? 3. What are the risks associated with social media and do the benefits

outweigh the costs? 4. What are the new legal issues associated with the use of social

media? 5. How will customer privacy issues be addressed? 6. How can positive brand recognition be ensured? 7. How will awareness training be communicated to employees and

customers? 8. How will inquiries and concerns from customers be handled? 9. Does the organisation have the resources to support such an

initiative? 10. What are the regulatory requirements that accompany the integration

of social media?

What to consider in a social media policy?• Who is going to manage social media in the organisation?

(consider a collaborative approach) • The nature of conduct that the employer seeks to protect

itself against • Who should such a policy apply to: the entire business or

levels within the business, suppliers, business partners contractors?

• The nature of control over social media use: a total ban, limited use, total accessibility?

• Authority limits or restrictions for use: is permission required, content pre-approval, who is responsible for such approvals?

• What can or cannot be discussed on social media forums ?

What to consider in a social media policy?• What logos, icons, ideas can or cannot be published

on social media forums? • What disclaimers or other information must be

included when participating in a social media forum? • The nature of behaviour that is acceptable or

unacceptable? • When it is (not) acceptable to use or participate in a

social media forum? • Reporting any breach • Consequences of breach • Integration into existing policies.

Review existing policies for social media implications• Code of Conduct / Ethics • Conflict of Interest • User agreements or term of use • Disclaimers • Linking agreement • License agreement • Logo use guidelines • Affiliation agreements

Advantages of a social media policy

• Provide guidelines for using social media: you can define what you consider appropriate

• Provide recourse as an employer if something does go wrong

• If you don’t have a policy in place you may find it hard to discipline staff for what you consider to be inappropriate use of social media

Social media guidelines: in general

• Think about language & etiquette: nothing beats good manners

• Understand that every post is public: this is not a relationship between you & your computer!

• Consider information you are posting: is it confidential or private in any way?

• Think about consequences in terms of being “quoted out of context”

• Have systems in place for dealing with negative events.

Social media guidelines: private vs public• Anything posted on social media should be

considered public – ie front page of the newspaper

• Know your privacy settings, especially on Facebook

• Be careful of “linking” private social media accounts to company accounts

• Share freely that which is public (and appropriate). • Think about location based social media

networking ie do you want your competition to know when you’re visiting clients?


Privacy basics

Privacy basicsBasic principles: the Data controller

–collect & process personal data only when this is legally permitted

– respect certain obligations regarding the processing of personal data;

– respond to complaints regarding breaches of data protection rules;

–collaborate with national data protection supervisory authorities

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/

Privacy basics• Personal data must be

– processed legally & fairly; – collected for explicit & legitimate purposes and used

accordingly; – adequate, relevant & not excessive in relation to the

purposes for which it is collected and/or further processed; – accurate & updated where necessary; – kept any longer than strictly necessary; – rectified, removed or blocked by the data subject if

incorrect; – Protected against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss,

alteration and disclosure, particularly when processing involves data transmission over networks.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/

Privacy basics & social mediaWho’s looking? • Parents • Friends & family • Friends of friends & family • Employers & co-workers • Customers • Universities • Marketing companies & vendors • Criminals & hackers • Government agencies • EVERYONE ELSE

Privacy basics & social media


Dimensions • Privacy of Personal Communications • Privacy of Personal Data / Data Protection • Privacy of Personal Behaviour • Privacy of the Person Privacy concerns • Privacy-Abusive Data Collection • Privacy-Abusive Service-Provider Rights • Privacy-Abusive Functionality & User Interfaces

• Privacy-Abusive Data Exploitation


DisincentivesImpediments

IncentivesStimulants

Attractors

Detractors

'turn-off' 'turn-on'

Processes

Social Media risk assessment

Corporate governance : ERM = COSO

Organisational structure

Roles involved in social media risk management

Information

Services, Infrastructure, Applications

How much information?

Social Media technological controls

• Technology can assist in policy enforcement, blocking, preventing or identifying potential incidents.

• Monitor social media via tools like Google Alerts, Social Mention, Twitter search,….

• Combination of web content filtering, which can block all access or allow limited access, and provide protection against malware downloads and end-user system antimalware, antivirus and operating system security to counter such attacks.

• A layered approach is optimal. • Tracking & reporting results


Electronic security • Viruses • False links • Spam • Phishing • Hackers • Web site security • Internet security • Electronic discovery

– Electronic information lasts forever


Personal security • Identity theft • Stalking • Cyber-bullying • Sextortion • Sexting • Predators

Culture, Ethics, Behaviour

Indicative Indicative Generation Birth-Years Age in 2014 Silent / Seniors 1910-45 70-100 Baby Boomers – Early 1945-55 60-70 Baby Boomers – Late 1955-65 50-60 Generation X 1965-80 35-50 Generation Y 1980-95 20-35 The iGeneration 1995- 0-20

The Generations of Computing Consumers

Baby Boomers (50-70)• Handshake/phone, PCs came late, had to adapt to mobile phones• Work is Life, the team discusses / the boss decides, process-oriented

GenXs (35-50)• Grew up with PCs, email and mobile phones, hence multi-taskers• Work to Have More Life, expect payback from work, product-oriented

GenYs (20-35)• Grew up with IM/chat, texting and video-games, strong multi-taskers• Life-Work Balance, expect fulfilment from work, highly interactive

iGens (to 20)• Growing up with texting, multi-media social networking, networked games,

multi-channel immersion / inherent multi-tasking• Life before Work, even more hedonistic, highly (e-)interactive

The Generations of Computing Consumers

The Privacy Attitudes of iGens




0. People say 'the generation that has embraced 'reality TV' and Facebook see the world differently' ... 'Privacy is dead'

BUT 1. Young people are risk-takers, and 'have nothing to hide' 2. People become more risk-averse as they get older

and accumulate things that they want to hide 3. The big change has been the reach and the re-discoverability

of the text, the images and the video of youthful indiscretions 4. Many people have been exposed during 2005-12 5. As a result, iGens are more savvy about self-exposure 6. iGens will be more privacy-sensitive than their predecessors


Share appropriately

• Caution everyone about the information they share with family members.

• The greatest social media risks revolve around discussing: • company’s finances • strategies & goals • brand & trade secrets • proprietary research • unreleased advertising • personal information of employees or clients

• Different perceptions on social media communications – Unofficial communications (It’s private, isn’t it?...) – Ephemeral communications (Did we really say that?) – Anonymous communications (Catch me if you can!)

Trust your gut feeling

• If you feel like you may have come upon information you are not authorized to have, err on the side of not using it.

• In other words: When in doubt, don’t. Once it’s out there, it’s out there forever.

• It’s truly better to be safe than sorry.

When things look too good to be true

Be mindful about copyrights & trademarks

• Just because it is online, does not mean it is fair game.

• When in doubt, get permission to use another’s material.

“More companies are discovering that an über-connected workplace is not just about implementing a new set of tools: it is also about embracing a cultural shift to create an open environment

where employees are encouraged to share, innovate and collaborate

virtually.” Willyerd & Meister, HarvardBusiness.org

Ethical issues

Should you

friend

someone who

works for you?

Should you accept your

bosses’ friend request?

Should the company accept a jobstudent’s friend request?

How much should you research job applicants?

People, Skills, Competencies

Social media awareness and training programPersonal use in the workplace: • is it allowed? • nondisclosure/posting of business-related content • discussion of workplace-related topics • inappropriate sites, content or conversations Personal use outside the workplace: • nondisclosure/posting of business-related content • standard disclaimers if identifying the employer • dangers of posting too much personal information Business use: • is it allowed? • process to gain approval for use • scope of topics or information permitted to flow through this channel • disallowed activities (installation of applications, playing games, etc.) • escalation process for customer issues

http://www.vvsg.be/Internationaal/Europa/Documents/FOD_Aanbevelingen%20gebruik%20sociale%20media_NL.pdf

135

Social media costs

Social media ROI

1. Higher customer satisfaction and interaction through personalized webcare.

2. Know about (problems with) your new products and services faster.

3. Increase impact of own content. Without filter. 4. Strengthen your reputation. 5. Strengthen your relationships. 6. Strengthen your controls.

Your social media controls are as strong …

… as their weakest link

TWEETED

145

For more information… Marc Vael

President

http://www.isaca.org/ http://www.isaca.be/

[email protected]

Follow Marc Vael on Twitter http://twitter.com/marcvael

Join Marc Vael on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marcvael