This was a question that deeply interested me for two primary reasons. The first was that even if they were unsafe, people would continue to use them because not to, meant that societal and business connections would be hampered. Afterall, most of the world’s population have signed up on these social media and collaboration platforms creating a gigantic network and data repository. The second is simpler, its hard to tell if these platforms are unsafe until there is a public news outbreak, and at that time exit possibilities are limited.
The reality hit me, when a few large security companies continued to use a collaboration platform where several vulnerabilities had been publicly identified. Ideally one would think such an act would be counterproductive to their type of business and they should have shifted to a competitor.
Let us closely examine the dilemma. We have to sign up blindly to a popular platform assuming it to be safe and to keep private personal data.
With all the news on security and privacy breaches, it is obvious that there is no platform that is 100% safe. Even platforms that spend billions are not. The big players however are committed to improving their customer trust and protecting their brand and investments, but the need for profits and the speed to bring new features may hamper their efforts to improve security and privacy. The commercial relationship between a user and a free to use platform is still evolving. Money can only be made through the analysis or sale of its content. That content has been crowdsourced without the clear specification of how it will be used or processed. Sadly, there is no fixed line between what’s right or wrong, it’s a tug of war between the platforms business interest, regulators, governments and its user community. All four must happily coexist to ensure the success of the ecosystem.
Each user of the platform has to secure their interests using means at their disposal. Written below are five tips that could help improve security and privacy:
a) Set Security and Privacy Settings Appropriately: All platforms have privacy and security settings. Reviewing these settings and tailoring them to your requirement ensures personal information is retained within an approved set of people. Security and Privacy settings are important to ensure that your account is not hijacked, personal data is not visible to the public, to set limits for its use and to avoid ad spam.
b) Keep a look out for security alerts: Simply, GOOGLE the “platform name + breach” and the results will clearly show that large platforms are not immune to severe security problems. The bigger they are the bigger the target they become. Once a breach has been detected, the platform would send out an email intimation of the breach, listing the data stolen, its potential impact and mitigation measures. Stolen data may be misused to send phishing or spam emails. Do read and implement the recommendations
c) Keep a look out for privacy alerts: Platform companies have been sued by regulators or face government hearing because of the data they collect, use and share. While, most of the information is post fact, once penalized they do put in measures to ensure better compliance in the future.
d) Think before you Post: Ensure that you assess the personal value of what you post online and the risk or consequence for its loss. Do not post anything that may have consequences that you cannot accept. Remember what goes online stays online.
e) Join platforms with a reputation to lose: Platforms with a reputation to lose will fight to preserve it by making business changes, working with regulators and investing to improve safeguards. Having been penalized or breached does not make a platform good or bad, its the post actions that tell the tale.
I trust these tips will help make your experience online safer.
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