As social media privacy risks grow, consumers need more privacy protection tools

Media coverage surrounding the upcoming White House social media summit is calling for renewed attention to the growing threat of social media privacy and security risks involved with social media. As social media use grows more common and hackers grow more sophisticated, so does the chance of an attack. In 2018, billions of people around the world were affected by data breaches and cyberattacks. The number of confirmed data breaches last year reached 12,449, a 424 percent increase from 2017 – and social media incidents accounted for over half of the data records compromised worldwide.

After its massive September breach, Facebook said it fixed the software flaws – two of which were, ironically, introduced by an online tool meant to improve the privacy of users. But the truth is we can’t rely on social media platforms, or the government, to protect our security. We need to take steps to protect ourselves.

ID Experts’ 2019 Study on Social Media Privacy and Security Concerns found that the majority of Americans are using one or more social media platforms daily. Sixty-three percent of adults use Facebook – the most popular platform – at least once a day. But more than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are worried about their privacy and security on the social network. This concern is comprehensive; in the study, demographics like age, gender, politics, or religion had little to no impact on respondents’ level of concern.

Users are right to be concerned: An average of 13 million social media records a day were compromised in the first half of 2018 alone. Some of the most common social media threats include phishing, in which users are tricked into clicking on infected links or scams; malware; account takeover; bots used to steal data or send spam on social media; and social media impersonation, in which someone creates a fake social media account in another user’s name. In ID Experts’ study, more than three-quarters of respondents expressed concern about all of these threats.

Right now, no national comprehensive social media privacy or security laws exist. And we cannot wait for them. Americans need to know that social media risks are pervasive across all ages and demographics. Interestingly, our study found that while over half of adults believe children, teens and seniors are “at high risk” when it comes to their social media security, less than a quarter believe non-senior adults are at high risk.

Americans also need to know that there are steps they can take to protect their security on these platforms. Creating strong, complex passwords and enabling two-factor authentication where available can help mitigate security risks, as can updating anti-virus software, checking privacy settings on accounts and securing mobile phones with a passcode.

But Americans also need privacy protection tools that enable them to monitor their social media accounts the same way they can monitor their credit scores and social security numbers. SocialSentry™, ID Experts’ new social security monitoring service, scans users’ social media profiles and networks, as well as the dark web, where compromised personal information is bought and sold. When anything that appears to pose a security or privacy risk is found, SocialSentry gives the user the ability to remedy the situation.

Social media isn’t going anywhere – while most Americans are concerned about their security on Facebook, for example, only 1 in 5 have quit the social network because of it. But it’s also clear that hackers aren’t going anywhere either. By taking measures to protect themselves, Americans can take charge of their own online security.

Thomas F. Kelly is president and CEO of ID Experts, a Portland, Oregon-based provider of data breach and identity protection services, such as MyIDCare. He is a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur and an expert in cybersecurity technologies.