The main issue surrounding security and privacy with social media is that employees may share confidential and/or highly classified personal and business information with people they perceive to be legitimate or unintentionally.

Social media is now a necessity to all companies who want to compete for a successful business and it needs to be understood that no company is immune to the threats of social media. With more social sharing sites accessible on even more devices, more problems will arise. Companies and organizations need to be proactive in their approach to protecting their confidential and proprietary information.

Here are 5 important steps to follow in order to protect your organization’s information:

1. Be aware – all upper management, human resources and information technology departments should understand the security and privacy “baggage” that comes with social media before jumping into it
2. Do research – there’s no better way to prepare for social media security breaches then to look at the faults and recoveries other companies have made
3. Adopt a policy – it is essential that organizations using social media in their business practices to adopt a social media policy, specifically addressing reputation management and the consequences of leaking proprietary information and trade secrets
4. Educate employees – address any issues concerning security and social media to all employees at every level, including a formal presentation in your on-boarding process for new hires
5. Monitor activity – your HR and IT departments should work together to perform routine checks on corporate social media accounts and also encourage employees to report suspicious posts they may come across