The problem with honest people is that they don’t think too seriously about how the things that they do or information that they share could be misused or be used against them.
It’s not the nature of good people to think like bad people. I can hear people saying: “No one cares about my information. I don’t have anything that people would want to steal. Bad things happen to other people, not me. I am just one person in a million; there are better targets out there. etc…” It’s not until something actually happens to them, or someone that they know, that they realize the truth.
Please! Please! Please! All you honest and good people living in modern world, think a little bit more about it! What could a malicious person do with your information if they wanted to? Even the simple messages you post on Facebook or Twitter. Malicious people do exist. I see it regularly in my career as an Information Security professional. Only in hindsight does the light bulb go off for the victim. Also, the victim might not be the person who’s information is misueed, many times one person’s information is misused to victimize another who trusts them. Social networking sites are a ripe field for this kind of information to be harvested.
Here are some tips I ran across that talk about basic security precautions on social networking sites. These are just some common sense things that can help reduce the probability and impact of information misuse: http://www.bankinnovation.net/profiles/blogs/10-ways-to-prevent-social-1
Even if you don’t think that YOUR information will be stolen or misused, don’t give anyone the opportunity to prove you wrong. Keep being honest but be "Information Misuse" aware!
Bill Murray leads the IT Risk Security and Compliance team at Westfield Insurance. Sharing Knowledge. Building Trust
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