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Social Networking’s Dark SideSocial networking on such Web sites as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or any number of others has grown into a hugely popular online community activity created for the simple purpose of helping people keep in touch. With that growth, however, has come a dark side to social networking—cybercriminals and scammers seeking to exploit the information that people provide. “It’s very easy to download spyware or viruses if you click on the wrong link or download,” warns David Gewirtz, a cyberterrorism advisor to the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals and author of a recent report, The Dark Side of Social Networking. “Once one of these programs runs on your computer, it can do anything—capture credit card numbers, bank accounts, keystroke access—it runs the gamut right down to launching bots that attack other computers.” Then there is the issue of personal security. “Most of us have somebody we’d rather avoid,” Gewirtz says. “Whether it’s someone you simply don’t want to talk to, an ex-girlfriend who’s stalking you, someone who really means you harm—the last thing you want to do is help them find you.” Yet, people regularly use Twitter or Facebook to provide a moment-by-moment account of their activities. “There are a lot of crazies out there,” Gewirtz warns. “You don’t want to give them a roadmap of where you are going to be and how to get to you.” Social networking also carries risks when it comes to an individual’s professional life, as well as the company he or she works for. When communicating information online, says Gewirtz, don’t post anything that could potentially damage your employability: confidential information, company gossip, presenting your employer in a negative light—any of these posts could land you in serious trouble. “With social networking, anyone can become a company spokesperson simply by the things they say online,” Gewirtz says. “A random statement read by the wrong person could be interpreted as company policy. That can come back to haunt the employee, not to mention the corporation.” In “Social Networking and Reputational Risk in the Workplace,” part of a 2009 Ethics & Workplace Survey conducted by Deloitte, an international professional services organization, 79% of employee respondents said that it is easy to damage a company’s reputation on social media; 53% said their social networking pages are none of their employer’s business; and 61% said that even if employers are monitoring their social networking profiles and activities, they won’t change what they’re doing online, claiming they have already modified their sites accordingly. The survey also revealed that while 58% of executives agree that reputational risk and social networking should be a boardroom issue, only 15% say it actually is. “While the decision to post videos, pictures, thoughts, experiences and observations to social networking sites is personal, a single act can create far-reaching ethical problems for individuals as well as organizations, notes Deloitte Chairman of the Board Sharon L. Allen. “Therefore, it is important for executives to be mindful of the implications and to elevate the discussion about the risks associated with it to the highest levels of leadership.” David Gewirtz advises that when it comes to your business and professional life, if you wouldn’t put it in a press release, don’t put it on Twitter or Facebook. Think before you type. Ask yourself: “Is this something that is going to reach out and haunt me in the future?” “People should not be afraid of online social networking; used correctly, it can be extremely valuable,” Gewirtz says. “These are amazing networking and communications tools. But they are not toys, and you are publishing not just to friends and family. When you post on a social networking site, you’re posting to the world.” |
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