Needless to say how much we love social media at Orange Business and especially on the Orange Business Live blog. The likes of Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn and TWitter are instrumental in letting us express our opinions, ideas and even develop our skills online, not to mention the management of our online reputations via powerful, user-friendly tools and platforms
Having said that, the blue-sky world of social networks is somewhat darkened by certain hard facts related to serious web 2.0 security issues. Private and business information is particularly at risk on certain social networking platforms - not because of the said platforms in actual fact - but due to their usage and the lack of precautions by certain users.
The problem is that one might tell users to behave and highlight the consequences of bad online behaviour, and even develop nice theories but users usually can't understand the issues unless they see them with their own eyes. Seeing is believing and this is what I have decided to do here in order to prove our point and convince the sceptics.
I have therefore recorded a video demonstration (see hereafter) of these security issues which I have published in 2 instalments and which prove the serious - if not lethal - danger of disclosing sensitive private and business information in social media platforms.
In part one of this video demonstration, I'll describe the danger itself and in the second part I'll deliver our recommendations for better using this great invention securely. Don't forget to turn the volume on and enjoy the presentation.
As I say in these videos, my aim is not to criticise social media, which I think is a great invention, but to highlight the security issues related to its usage and emphasise that online behavioural patterns can have serious consequences. It would be stupid to prevent the usage of social media - in fact it would also be ineffectual - and it is much more recommended that users be educated so that social media does not become a danger but a true ally.
The second instalment of this article on social media will demonstrate how easy it is to use the secret information collected about the targeted lab described in instalment one and will deliver our recommendations to business owners so that they better protect their confidential data and also their personnel and reap the benefits of the safe use of web 2.0.
In the meantime, please surf carefully!
Important notice: special thanks to Paul Hayter from Alpha plus anglais for the English version of these videos and the voice-over commentary. Paul can be contacted at 13 Square Général John S Wood, F-35700 Rennes, France (Tel: +33 (6) 6147 1127
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