Facebook’s made such an impact on our lives, businesses and organizations. It really is a great way to reach out to new (and old) friends, prospect, clients, etc. perfect for social marketing campaigns and the like. But with any new technology, mass marketers, corporate and “bad guys” find ways to make more money with the help of your data.
Just this last week, Facebook released a statement noting that they’re considering to allow application developers to get access to private information, such as phone numbers and addresses. Though Facebook plans to revamp its privacy permissions screen to keep users aware of sharing criteria, it’s still very scary. And here’s why.
Teenagers and others who aren’t truly aware of the consequences of data exploitation are certainly in the high risk category. While there is some value in keeping information stored for identification, access or convenience, it’s most prudent to keep that information stored on on sites with security (https) and sites you can trust. With an unprecedented amount of apps that are developed, it’s difficult to know where that information’s being stored, what’s being stored, who has access, and ultimately, what the intentions are.
What type of information are these app developers looking for? Your name, address, phone number, IP address, age, passwords, geo-targeting data and much more. Think you’ve got them fooled with using an alias? Think again. Just use your imagination to get an idea of what can go wrong in the event this data winds up in the wrong hands deliberately or through a security breach.
The bottom line? Make sure your users are educated – adults and minors alike. At home and in the office. While it’s tough to discourage someone from using the newest, coolest app, make sure it’s thoroughly researched and you know who’s got their eyes on your personal information. At home and at the office, we strongly suggest having up-to-date anti-virus and spyware software installed. In the office, too, we recommend considering an internet policy to either block or limit the amount of time your users are permitted to access Facebook.
