Should you encourage your employees to avoid sharing sensitive data in Slack or other communication platforms?

As the modern workforce has moved to remote work en mass in the past several months, communication platforms such as Slack and Zoom have become hugely instrumental. But with the incorporation of third-party apps and programs, not directly managed by a company’s security department, comes risk to loss or disclosure of sensitive data. It’s important to recognize the risks inherent with using communication platforms not controlled by the company itself. But there are ways to help mitigate those risks. Here are a few tips to help  

Avoid Duplicate Passwords

While it is reasonably common to use the same password across multiple accounts, you should encourage employees to be extra careful with external site passwords. Victims of the major LinkedIn hack several years ago saw the damage this can cause as their corporate accounts for Dropbox were then hacked using the same information stolen from LinkedIn. Those passwords and identity information are often shared among hackers (or sold to the highest bidder). So, if one account is hacked, anything else with that same password is immediately put at risk. Reusing passwords for email, work, banking, and social media accounts can quickly lead to identity theft, corporate espionage, and other potentially devastating occurrences.  

The bottom line is to use a different password for every one of your accounts. Using a password manager can help make that a lot easier. But if you’re not open to relying on a tool that will remember all your passwords for you, consider just making your Facebook and LinkedIn passwords more secure. To do this, consider using nonsense phrases that make the password harder to guess, but easy enough to remember. Try using abbreviations, websites, acronyms, and even song lyrics to come up with something unique and personal to you.  

Restrict Sharing Sensitive Information 

The information you share on third-party apps and sites may or may not be protected from public view. Depending on the security baked into the program, you run the risk of sensitive information either being available to other users or vulnerable to hackers. So while it might not seem like a hacker would be interested to learn about conversations with coworkers on Slack about your vacation coming up next month, a viewer with bad intentions might take advantage of an empty house. Or if you share your phone number publicly, that’s information that a cyber-criminal could use (or sell) to hack your bank account. While they are often shared on social media sites, even pictures can be used for intentions you didn’t originally plan for. The important thing to remember is that if you share something online, even if it’s business-related and not clearly sensitive, make sure you don’t mind it being read or used by a stranger.   

For more tips on how to keep your data secure in the digital age, connect with the team at Happy Faces Records Management today. 

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