We’ve all seen it on social media platforms:
Apart from this not being everyone’s cup of tea, this very personal message has now been published. Online. Forever. The kind of thing that future employers might stumble across whilst doing some background checks on John or Janine, and have personal views on the suitability of their messages.
Personal data in a corporate environment
But what if personal messages were sent via a business networking platform?
Hey Pete, stuff this Valentine’s Day malarkey! Let’s celebrate my divorce settlement down the pub later! Cheers, Dan
Light-hearted messages on business platforms could have serious implications. They can damage a person’s professional reputation, but they can also damage that of the company they are associated with.
Andy Carter, BOM’s MD comments: “Once a message such as this one is posted, it’s not only accessible to colleagues, but also to a company’s business partners, to customers and let’s not forget, the competition.”
Building awareness
When corporate channels of communication are being diluted by your employees with personal communications, you’re treading on dangerous ground. The negative impact on your business reputation could seriously decrease your credibility with your current client base, as well as your ability to win new business.
But we all know how hard it is to prevent the sharing of personal data. Anyone can share anything on any platform, and it seems that all you can do is react to it once it’s been shared.
Not quite, according to Andy: “Every employee and business leader has a duty of care to their business that requires them to be mindful of what information they share, and of the context they’re sharing it in. Businesses must become more proactive around this issue. They need to become more aware themselves of the dangers associated with personal data sharing, and they must raise awareness amongst their employees too, so everyone learns to take responsibility over their own data. And apart from raising awareness, your business must also try to control, manage and review the information that is being shared.”
One way of controlling and managing the information that is shared outside your systems network, is ensuring that all corporate data is encrypted, or password protected. When it comes to reviewing personal and corporate data it’s wise to audit your network and systems, something every business should regularly undertake, especially in the light of GDPR.
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Data Breach
So Andy has made us more aware of the dangers of sharing personal data, and that we must always think before we send a message, especially ones of a personal nature. These measures will make your communications safer. However, sadly, even the most careful of people could still fall victim to a data breach. Let’s take a business networking platform which holds information on who you are, your position, the company you work for, your previous experience, your phone number, email address, etc. Somebody who’s trying to use that information in a sinister fashion has all that details readily available. They could use all the data they’ve collated on you and send an email to somebody in your organisation making it look very authentic. What looks like a very legitimate request for action on a certain matter is in fact false.
How BOM can help
To help combat an attack of this nature, BOM offers many security products and services. BOM provides proactive monitoring and managing of your firewalls and intrusion detection systems. We also track alerts when your business is potentially being attacked. BOM offers 24/7 monitoring of security issues and reporting.
Find out more about how we can help your business gain maximum IT security?
If you would like further information or wish to discuss how BOM IT Solutions can can help your business gain maximum IT security then please email us at sales@bom.co.uk or call for a consultation with our team on 0800 038 7222
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