Enhancing Social Media Security: A Comprehensive Approach

The assignment content discusses the importance of addressing security and privacy issues in social media. It highlights that while social media has become an easy means of communication and content sharing, users are not guaranteed the security of their information. Therefore, companies must take responsibility for ensuring the security and privacy of user data by using advanced security tools and techniques. The discussion emphasizes that companies must prioritize the security and privacy of user data to maintain customer trust.

Information Security
Security and Privacy Issues with Social Media
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Executive Summary
This report is concerned with the topic of security and privacy issues of social media. There is no
doubt to say that social media has become an important part of most of the people worldwide.
Not only for personal usage but also for business purposes social media is highly preferred to use
to promote business worldwide. Social media has several benefits that enhance its usage among
IT users. But on other side, some issues regarding security and privacy of users’ data is also
found. In my opinion, there is no doubt that if social media is boon for contemporary world then
due to lack of security it becomes curse for some normal users. The purpose of making this
report is to emphasize on security and privacy issues of social media in detail. Moreover, I will
emphasize on essential challenges of social media such as maintaining brand reputation,
resolution of issues etc. Through this report, I would also like to discuss about relevant
technologies that can be used to maintain security of social media and some of those
technologies are use of security tools such as anti-virus, use of strong passwords by users,
security of web server and others. Furthermore, people have some doubts regarding social media
platform, so through this report, I will clarify those vague areas. With the help of this report, it
becomes easier to know how high level security and privacy of social media can be maintained
both at developer and user end.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Challenges of Security and Privacy Issues with Social Media....................................................3
Problems regarding Security and Privacy Issues of Social Media..............................................4
Relevant Technologies.................................................................................................................4
Applications of the Technologies.................................................................................................5
Clarification of Vague Areas.......................................................................................................5
Research Questions......................................................................................................................6
Discuss Issues in the Forum.........................................................................................................6
Essential Issue not discussed in Forum.......................................................................................6
Impact of above discussed issues and their Applications on Real World....................................7
Important Lesson learn from Discussion.....................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
Social media is a collective set of online communication channels that are used for
communication and content sharing among people worldwide. It is considered the cheapest and
most reliable way to communicate with people worldwide. Nowadays, in business organizations
and among common users, social media is highly preferred to use for communication purposes.
Whether there are some benefits of social media but some challenges and problems are also
attached with this technology. Those challenges are mostly related to security and privacy issues
of sensitive information of users. Now, in upcoming paragraphs of this report, I would like to
discuss some essential issues of social media and other essential concepts related to this.
Discussion
Here are some essential challenges of security and privacy associated with social media.
Challenges of Security and Privacy Issues with Social Media
There are several issues regarding security and privacy in social media have encountered by its
users. In this case, the main challenge is to select best strategy that can control security and
privacy related issues across the world. It is very hard to figure out an appropriate strategy to get
rid of this problem (Searchsecurity.techtarget.com, 2017).
The next essential challenge is to maintain reputation of companies that are providing social
media services and applications to its customers. If they will not satisfied customers then it will
let their image down and it will also effect revenue of their business (eClincher, 2017).
The awareness about latest tools and techniques that can help to maintain security while using
social networking sites is also necessary to spread among users. This is because, most of the
people are not careful about these tools and they have to face problems.
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Problems regarding Security and Privacy Issues of Social Media
Besides above challenging factors, there are some essential problems that are faced by users of
social media due to its privacy and security issues.
1. The first major problem is related to stealing of personal information of users that is sent
over social networking sites by users. This information is stored into database of
company, but due to lack of proper security of database information can be stolen by
hackers.
2. Nowadays, social media is misused by some people. The fake videos, audios and
messages are spread all around to make fool of people. Hackers also use this technique to
collect sum amount of money from users by giving them fake offers through these media
elements. Furthermore, when a user opens any unknown link on social media websites
then that link may have an attached vulnerable virus that can enter into their system and
collect important information (MakeUseOf, 2017).
Relevant Technologies
The above discussed problems and challenges regarding social media cannot be ignored,
otherwise these problems can become too difficult to control. Here some relevant technologies
available that can be used to control above discussed issues of social media regarding security
and privacy of users’ information (Fast Company, 2017).
1. The first technique is to protect web server and social media websites that are used for
communication and content sharing, by using Secure Socket Layer (SSL). It is a secure
networking layer and can protect information that will be transferred over network.
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2. Another technique is to use strong login credentials for social media accounts. It is so
easy for hackers to guess weak passwords. Therefore, for better protection, both
usernames and passwords should be strong.
3. The technique of encryption should be used to store information into databases. The
encrypted form of information is hard to understand and required a decryption key to read
original information. It is also a better way to sustain security and privacy of data into
database for long time (Senthil Kumar N, Saravanakumar K & Deepa K, 2017).
Applications of the Technologies
The above discussed technologies to maintain security and privacy of data on social media have
wide range of applications. To secure computer systems, networks, websites, web server and
online databases, these above mentioned technologies can be used. Most business organizations
and other users prefer to use these techniques to maintain security and privacy of databases
(Hootsuite Social Media Management, 2017).
Clarification of Vague Areas
In this discussion about security and privacy issues with social media, it is also necessary to
emphasize on some unclear areas of this topic. One of the unknown or unclear facts is about
storage of hefty amount of users’ information by social media websites. If storage of information
will be stored in appropriate way then security will be increased. It is essential for social media
users to understand that large servers are used by companies to store huge amount of information
(methodshop, 2017). But security of those servers is not defined yet by companies. Other unclear
issue is regarding installation of malware on computers while using social media. It can be
possible by using ads that contain viruses. Whenever while using social media, those ads are
clicked or downloaded by users then attached malware can be entered into system. Therefore, it
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is necessary for users to be aware about these unclear areas of social media (Econsultancy,
2017).
Research Questions
Question 1: Is privacy a big issue for social media?
Answer: Yes, there is no doubt to say that privacy is a big issue for social media. There are
several social media users those have faced problems of security and privacy regarding their
information.
Question 2: How issues of security and privacy can be resolved at social networking?
Answer: There are various methods available that can be used to resolve problems of security
and privacy at social networking. Most commonly used methods are use of anti-virus to restrict
unknown entities to enter into system, use of strong login credentials and storage of encrypted
information into databases (HuffPost, 2017).
Discuss Issues in the Forum
In selected forum the main discussed issues are related to challenges to manage security and
privacy issues in social media. All issues are discussed appropriately and these must be taken
into consideration by all users. It is right that due to issues of security and privacy of
information, the reputation of company that provides services goes down. In this given
information, I would like to add that at developers of social networking sites are doing efforts to
control these critical challenges of lack of security and privacy. Moreover, various contemporary
tools have already available to use for this purpose (Langheinrich & Karjoth, 2010).
Impact of above discussed issues and their Applications on Real World
The above discussed all issues and challenges regarding security and privacy of social media
have very bad impact on the real world. The issues of stealing of confidential information,
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damage of company’s large databases and hacking of networks that are used for sending and
receiving confidential information are increasing day by day. Moreover, through social media
problem of posting of fake content, videos and messages etc. is increasing and several people
have faced loss due to this issue. That is why there is no doubt to say that the security related
issues of social media need to be resolve as soon as possible by security experts
(Ieeexplore.ieee.org, 2017).
Essential Issue not discussed in Forum
In selected forum, most of the selected information is accurate and required. But one essential
thing that is not mentioned in this forum is that due to above discussed challenges not only
business organizations and users, but also social media marketers are getting affected. The main
challenges that are faced by social media marketers are maintenance of security of internal
resources, development of social media marketing strategies and identification of right social
media tools for management (Cse.wustl.edu, 2017). This issue is necessary to discuss here
because social media marketers are those who responsible for making social media strategies and
to provide security and privacy of users’ data. If these professionals will also be affected by
social media challenges then how they can provide better services further. It means they have to
think in logical way to resolve these issues.
Important Lesson learn from Discussion
From above discussion, I learnt that whether social media has become an easier way of
communication and content sharing but besides this, users have not surety about security of their
information (nadikari123, 2017). It is responsibility of companies that they should understand
this critical issue thoroughly and must use advanced security tools and techniques for
maintaining security of data for long time. It is a matter of customer’s trust that they provide
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their personal and credit card information to social networking websites and must be taken
seriously by social media companies (Zheleva, Terzi & Getoor, 2012).
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the security and privacy related issues of social media are very important to
resolve. With the advancement and maximum usage of social media among people worldwide,
these issues are increasing. Moreover, some people are not aware about privacy policy of social
media and due to that they do not follow security standards while using social networking sites
and try to post illegal and restricted content. Here, it is responsibility of companies to forbid the
posting of harmful and illegal material on websites. It will be helpful to manage overall security
of social networking sites and its databases.
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References
Searchsecurity.techtarget.com. (2017). Social media security risks news, help and research -
SearchSecurity. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from
Fast Company. (2017). Privacy and Security Issues in Social Networking. Retrieved 15
September 2017, from https://www.fastcompany.com/1030397/privacy-and-security-
issues-social-networking
methodshop. (2017). 6 Really Scary Facts About Your Privacy on the Internet. Retrieved 15
September 2017, from
MakeUseOf. (2017). 12 Social Media Facts and Statistics You Should Know in 2016.
Retrieved 15 September 2017, from
Langheinrich, M., & Karjoth, G. (2010). Social networking and the risk to companies and
institutions. Information Security Technical Report, 15(2), 51-56.
Cse.wustl.edu. (2017). A Survey of Privacy and Security Issues in Social Networks.
Retrieved 15 September 2017, from
Senthil Kumar N, Saravanakumar K, & Deepa K. (2017). On Privacy and Security in Social
Media – A Comprehensive Study. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from
eClincher. (2017). Biggest Challenges Facing Social Media Marketers - eClincher. Retrieved
15 September 2017, from
Econsultancy. (2017). The four biggest challenges facing social media strategists. Retrieved
15 September 2017, from
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Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (2017). Solutions to Security and Privacy Issues in Mobile Social
Networking - IEEE Conference Publication. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from
nadikari123. (2017). Social network privacy & security. Slideshare.net. Retrieved 15
September 2017, from
Hootsuite Social Media Management. (2017). 5 Social Media Security Risks and How to
Avoid Them. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from
HuffPost.(2017). Social Media Privacy and Personal Security Issues. Retrieved 15 September
2017, from
Zheleva, E., Terzi, E., & Getoor, L. (2012). Privacy in social networks. San Rafael, Calif.
(1537 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 USA): Morgan & Claypool.
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