The Human Factor in the Social Media Security – Combining Education and Technology to Reduce Social Engineering Risks and Damages

Humans are social creatures and the digital era didn't change this, but it did change the way we communicate. Using social media we have instant access to millions of peoples and we have new ways of interaction. But the social media has security risks. It is used also by criminals for fraud, gathering business intelligence, stealing sensitive information etc. This paper will demonstrate the cyber security risks and mitigations, focusing on the human factor and social media. Formal policy to guide how employees can use social media sites is not enough, and complementary layers are needed: education starting at elementary school, interactive and adaptable training and innovative technology means. To strengthen the human factor, we should put effort in education, starting as early as the first grade, at the age that the children are exposed to the internet. Unusual approaches to cyber security training should be considered, such as interactive video games. But we should also put more effort on technological means of helping humans make fewer errors and avoid falling into cyber traps. Privacy settings can limit access to the user's information. Social media site monitoring tools can help organizations keep track of malicious activities and threats against them. Technology can help to check the reliability of the person suggesting friendship. Social networks can also be used to identify an organization's insider threat, by analyzing the social media content. Combining education and training with best-of-breed technology may reduce social engineering risks and damages.