Protecting Your Social Media Accounts from Being Hacked

Protecting Your Social Media Accounts from Being Hacked Information needed to Enter a Social Media Account Username + Password + Email Address + Answer of Security Questions Common Information People Integrate to their Passwords and Security Questions Names of loved ones and pets Birthdays of themselves and their loved ones Nicknames Favorite books, movies, music, teams, colors and food Mother’s maiden name School names Birthplace and hometown Address All of them can be easily found in a deep dive to someone’s social media feeds. How to Protect Your Social Media Accounts -Think carefully before you post something online. -Keep your privacy settings as high as possible. -Don’t include common knowledge about you in your passwords and security questions. -Use multifactor authentication to add a layer of protection. -Use reputable offline password management tools rather than online. -Don’t keep your social media account details in places that others could reach. -Regularly change your passwords. -Be skeptical of the password reset emails if you haven’t requested it. -Don’t enter suspicious online giveaways with your email and passwords. -Conduct cyber security risk assessment on your devices. What to Do If Your Social Media Accounts Get Hacked -Try to recover your account using your security questions and multifactor authentication. -Make sure you collect evidence of the incident. -Report the issue to the platform administration. -Contact QCERT to report the incident through reporting channels: *Call at +974 4493 3408 (24 x 7 service) *Email at incidents@qcert.org *Complete the incident reporting form on www.qcert.org -Ask help from your family members, law enforcement, legal and psychological experts. You might have already unknowingly shared the information needed to gain access to your accounts. Change your passwords now if they include common knowledge about you.