When posting information online you should always assume that it is public, says Gareth Niblett, Chairman of the BCS Information Security Specialist Group.

1. June 2013 ITNOW 25
People now live more and more of their
lives online, with most having accounts
with one or more sites that allow them to
share personal or professional details and
activities with others.
We generally trust who we connect with
but share maybe more than is prudent in
a medium that may seem ephemeral but
can provide an online record long into the
future.
Misjudged messages and images can be
found years later and put employment and
relationships at risk.
Even trying to limit who you initially share
information with doesn’t prevent it from
being recorded or forwarded on, and the
sites may have an interest in you sharing
to the widest audience possible. Always
assume posts are public and permanent.
Even if we are careful about who we
connect with and what we share, we can
provide snippets of information which, taken
together with other data, can expose things
that we did not intend to be publicly revealed
- be they company technologies, plans and
other commercially sensitive data or your
locations and sensitive personal data.
Often our mobile devices, such as
smartphones and tablets, will be set up to
automatically log into social media sites and
other accounts yet lack the same level of
protections that a laptop or desktop might
have.
When someone else gets hold of our
devices it can be all too easy to get access
to the device, along with all the data and
accounts linked to it.
INFORMATION SECURITY
We might also receive posts, links and
recommendations from friends, colleagues
and other contacts that we click on, install
or visit and be subject to other risks, such
as scams, malware, spyware and other
unwanted things.
We all need to be educated to online and
social threats, so we can all identify and deal
with them.
www.bcs.org/security
When posting information online you should always assume that
it is public, says Gareth Niblett, Chairman of the BCS Information
Security Specialist Group.
Information Security Specialist
Group (ISSG):
www.bcs-issg.org.uk
Information Risk Management and
Assurance Specialist Group:
www.bcs.org/groups/irma
BCS Security Community of
Expertise (SCoE):
www.bcs.org/securitycommunity
FURTHER INFORMATION
SHARE
SECURELY
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PROFESSIONALS ON THE GO
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Alsoavailableinthisebookseries:
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